In the
Shadow
of the
Pyramids
10-Year Anniversary Edition
Self Published Edition of 500 | Signed & Numbered | Photography & Text: Laura El-Tantawy | Design: SYB (Sybren Kuiper) | Lithography: Colour & Books (Sebastiaan Hanekroot) | Printing: Fine Books (Jos Morree) | Binding: FopmaWier Boekbinderij (Wytze Fopma) | Produced with support from Tintera (Egypt) | ISBN: 978-0-9932876-3-3.
"As a young Egyptian, Tahrir felt like I was documenting my generation's story — our struggle for a sense of dignity and respect. It also affirmed my passion for photography and telling people stories — stories about home, belonging, dignity and empathy. I'm inspired by people and feel privileged to have documented this chapter in my country's history."
Egypt's revolution: 'The roar of the crowd shook my feet' | BBC News.
January 25th, 2021 marks 10-years since the spark of the Tahrir Square protests that unseated former Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak. On this occasion, I am releasing a newly edited & redesigned version of In the Shadow of the Pyramids. This release engages the original photographs in a new framework — upholding the historical prominence of the imagery while meditating on the paling memory of the revolution.
In the Shadow of the Pyramids 2.0 is not a book I anticipated making.
It was born out of a sense of responsibility to honour my role of bearing witness to, and visually chronicling, one of the most important chapters in modern Egyptian history. This is coupled with a fervent necessity on my part as an Egyptian to conserve the memory of those life altering events and ensure they remain alive in our conscience as Egyptians and compassionate world citizens.
The 10-year anniversary edition stays true to the size and material architecture of its older sibling. However, reflecting the traces of time, its inside pages have undergone a radical design transformation. In the Shadow of the Pyramids 2.0 tells a story reminiscent of the impact the past 10 years have had on the narrative around the revolution and the emotional toll this imposes on the reading of the photographs made between 2005 and 2014.
"I always felt like, inside, there was something I was looking for, and I didn't really know what that was…In Tahrir Square, there was a collective longing to belong.”
On the lasting meaning of Tahrir Square: A Conversation with writer Scott Anderson on the occasion of the release of the 10-year anniversary edition of In the Shadow of the Pyramids | Canon blog.
“I want it to be a book that remembers these events, so that they are not forgotten.”
The Egyptian Revolution, Ten Tears Later: Interview with Laurence Cornet | Blind Magazine.
SYB, designer of both renditions of In the Shadow of the Pyramids, on our thought process behind the 10-Year Anniversary Edition:
“It is a singular chance for a designer to revisit the design of a book done five years earlier. It is an especially daunting challenge when it concerns a well respected project like ‘In the Shadows of the Pyramids’. The first incarnation was well received by many. So what can be done for an anniversary edition? Tweek the first book a little? Shift things around a bit? Iron out a few flaws and call it "the director's cut" or "redux version", like some movies do?
That might be considered wise. It probably would be marketable. A chance for those photo book connoisseurs who missed out on the first edition. On the other hand it would also feel a bit redundant and easy. There are so many ways to tell a story, so we decided to do the opposite.
The first book was edited like a one night encounter, even though the photographs were taken over many years. This had everything to do with our attempt to reflect the energy and emotion of what happened on Tahrir Square to readers. For the 10-year anniversary edition we embraced the chronological order of the narrative. The dates the photographs were taken are the principle edit of this book. They help shed another spotlight on what happened, but they also give the photographs more individual attention — an attention they deserve.”
“Laura El-Tantawy’s seminal work lays on the cusp of an explosive chapter and moment of great change in Egypt and narrates life during the period in which the Egyptian people reclaimed their nation.”
Book Review, In the Shadow of the Pyramids, 10-Year Anniversary Edition | The Independent Photographer.