Paintings’ Stories: The Forgotten Route, is a research on the forgotten stories linked to the history of modern Egyptian paintings, retelling history through stories and their location, creating routes of forgotten narratives of modern painting in Egypt. There is still more to tell about the history of modern Egyptian art, and more to add through documenting oral history. The research questions the existing narrative on modern Egyptian art, colonization of knowledge, and epistemicide (destruction of existing knowledge), and proposes a parallel history; one that is rooted in Egypt. Through psychogeography, the project analytically links forgotten stories to the location of fragments of the past, shifting away from what is conventionally known of modern Egyptian art. The research will be presented as a publication and a media application that pins the current location of the paintings, creating routes of modern paintings’ stories in Cairo.

By mapping the location where historical art events took place or the sites that inspired the paintings, historical art routes are created. Following or walking past these forgotten stories’ routes projects a complex layer of interactivity, and allows art history and research to be experienced in a holistic artistic manner.