"These photographs were made in Cairo throughout March and April 2012, during the build up to Egypt’s first democratic elections. The early stages of the campaigns were exciting, emblematic of the next phase of the revolution — campaign rallies and demonstrations in favour of particular candidates were riotously ubiquitous. However, their repetitiveness made them almost theatrical, taking on a rehearsed appearance that is the staple of any election campaign. I found myself drawn to the outskirts of the city, the areas away from the flashpoint of Tahrir Square, where the coverage had been little to none in the mainstream press. I was curious about how daily life in these peripheries has continued, or perhaps been disrupted, by the past year’s events. In these places I looked for signs of how this new political arena had become inextricably fused with the daily life of Cairo’s inhab-itants, how it had become woven into their everyday existence. The politicians were still everywhere, whether you wanted to look or not — posters hastily pasted onto every available surface, their airbrushed faces smiling outwards. The ‘street’ in Cairo is symbolic, now almost a byword used to describe the general mood of the politically active, a barometer for a movement’s next motion. This mood became my point of departure, whilst I looked to the city — how it inhaled and paused, before the next exhalation." Harry Mitchell
