Ezz Monem (born Mohamed Ezzeldin M. Abdelmonem; October 23, 1985) is a photo-based artist from Egypt who lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. He uses photography to explore the pluralism of reality, playing with sensations of ambivalence and conflict, and giving visual form to the multiplicity of identity in places, people, and objects. Monem sources images from found photographs, fiction films, videos and the internet, utilising the mechanical reproduction capabilities of the camera along with various darkroom techniques to transform them into photographic works and alternate archives. Through the repurposing of images, Monem makes autoethnographic works drawing on his background growing up in Egypt and his experience migrating to Australia.

Monem graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University and worked as a software engineer, but his explorations in visual arts began years earlier. His work has been shown in exhibitions in Egypt, Australia and various other countries in Europe and the Middle East where he has received numerous awards. Monem recently completed a Master of Contemporary Art at the VCA, University of Melbourne.

Ezz Monem is represented by Pasaia THIS IS NO FANTASY gallery.

vapouringly Education
2021 – Master of Contemporary Art, Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), University of Melbourne.
2007 – Bachelor of Engineering, Cairo University.

Solo Exhibitions
2022 – ‘In search of Mohamed: archive of opening credits’, Fitzroy Library, Melbourne.
2022 – ‘Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed’, Blindside ARI, Melbourne.
2022 – ‘In Search of Mohamed’, THIS IS NO FANTASY, Melbourne.
2021 – ‘Collectables’, Online commission for KINGS Artist-Run, Melbourne.
2021 – ‘Revolutionary Failure’, Noir Darkroom, Melbourne.
2020 – ‘Delivered Orders’, Seventh Gallery, Melbourne.
2019 – ‘The Pyramids Postcards: Following the Policeman’, KINGS Artist-Run, Melbourne.
2016 – ‘Formal Specters’, Artellewa, Cairo.
2012 – ‘Align’, Artellewa, Cairo.
2010 – ‘Circle’, El-Balad Gallery, Cairo.

Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 – ‘NGV Triennial’, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
2023 – ‘Gertrude Studios 2023’, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne.
2023 – ‘Under the Covers’, Brunswick Temporary, Melbourne.
2023 – ‘ORBIT’, THIS IS NO FANTASY, Melbourne.
2023 – ‘Photo London Art Fair – OVR’, London.
2023 – ‘The Night of Counting the Tears’, with Raafat Ishak, Islamic Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
2022 – ‘Gertrude Studios 2022’, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne.
2022 – ‘The way we talk (about it)’, Brunswick Temporary, Melbourne.
2022 – ‘Exposure Site’, Gertrude Glasshouse, Melbourne.
2021 – ‘Sydney Contemporary: Explore’, online.
2021 – ‘VCA Art Grad Show’, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
2021 – ‘Incinerator Art Award Exhibition: Art for Social Change’, Incinerator gallery, Melbourne.
2021 – ‘A Whole Population of Poets’, Sumac Space.
2021 – ‘From Where I stand #3’, curated by Kim Donaldson, VCA Artspace, Melbourne.
2021 – ‘Coming From – Going To’, VCA Artspace – Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
2019 – ‘ILFORD CCP Salon’, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne.
2019 – ‘COMPACT’, Alternating Current Artspace, Melbourne.
2018 – ‘Whatever (Doesn’t) Works!!!’ curated by Masato Takasaka, Creative Spaces: Assembly Point, Melbourne.
2018 – ‘While They Decide’ curated by Kim Donaldson, VCA Artspace, Melbourne.
2018 – ‘Made in Australia’, VCA Artspace – Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
2016 – ‘CCP Salon’, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne.
2016 – ‘Log In’, Darb1718, Cairo.
2016 – ‘Locate Egypt’, curated by KoProjects.
2016 – ‘Artists of Tomorrow’, Arts-Mart Gallery, Cairo.
2016 – ‘Less Than Important’, Saad Zaghloul Culture Center, Cairo.
2015 – ‘Kevät Egyptistä’ (Spring in Egypt), Äkkigalleria, Jyväskylä, Finland.
2015 – ‘Supermarket – Stockholm Independent Art Fair’, Stockholm, Sweden.
2015 – ‘Market Point’, Artellewa, Cairo.
2014 – ‘Have a peaceful day’, Saad Zaghloul Culture Center, Cairo.
2014 – ‘The 25th Youth Salon’, the Palace of Arts, Opera House, Cairo.
2013 – ‘The Nile Salon of photography’, the 8th session, Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum, Cairo.
2013 – ‘Downtown’, Gallery Misr, Cairo.
2013 – ‘The 24th Youth Salon’, the Palace of Arts, Opera House, Cairo.
2012 – ‘Shift Delete 30’, Saad Zaghloul Culture Center, Cairo.
2012 – ‘Supermarket’, Gezira Arts Center, Cairo.
2012 – ‘Cairo. Open City New Testimonies from an Ongoing Revolution’, Braunschweig museum of photography, Germany.
2012 – ‘Studio Viennoise’, Viennoise hotel building, Cairo.
2012 – ‘The 23rd Youth Salon’, the Palace of Arts, Opera House, Cairo.
2011 – ‘The Revolution’, Sakia Culture Wheel, Cairo.
2011 – ‘We Are Tahrir’, Sadat Metro Station, Cairo.
2011 – ‘Text’, Darb1817, Cairo.
2011 – ‘Sharjah festival for Arab Photo’, American Unversity of Sharjah, Emirates.
2011 – Residency project exhibition (The Queue series), Centre D’Art I Natura, Farrera, Catalonia, Spain.
2010 – ‘The 21st Youth Salon’, the Palace of Arts, Opera House, Cairo.
2010 – ‘Clowns Without Borders’, In co-operation with the French photographer (Olivier Ouadah), Citadel of Qaitbay, Alex.
2009 – ‘Street Photography’, Abu Dhabi, Emirates.
2009 – ‘Meeting 4’, L’atelier D’Alexandrie, Alex.
2009 – ‘The Nile Salon of Photography’, The 7th session, Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum, Cairo.
2009 – ‘The 7th Arabic Festival of Photography’, Jordan.
2009 – ‘AFRICAM’ (Contemporary Art in Africa), Casoria Contemporary Art Museum, Naples, Italy.
2008 – ‘100mm’, Artellewa, Cairo.
2008 – ‘The 19th Youth Salon’, the Palace of Arts, Opera House, Cairo.
2008 – ‘CD’, AFCA gallery, Cairo.
2008 – ‘Art of Reform’ project, Portrait Gallery – Cairo, Jesuit institute – Menia, Eldokan gallery – Alex.
2008 – ‘The Portrait Salon’, The 2nd session, Portrait Gallery, Cairo.
2008 – ‘Egypt: life in a picture’, the Delegation of European Commission, The Townhouse gallery for contemporary arts, Cairo.
2007 – ‘The 18th Youth Salon’, Citadel of Qaitbay, Alex.
2007 – ‘The Nile Salon of photography’, the 6th session, the Palace of Arts, Opera House, Cairo.
2006 – ‘Nature Effect’, the Egyptian salon of photography, Russian culture center, Cairo.
2006 – ‘Twins’, the Egyptian salon of photography, Music hall, Opera House, Cairo.
2006 – ‘Photo Meeting’, the 2nd festival, the French cultural center (CFCC), Cairo.
2006 – ‘Another Idea’, the annual exhibition of Egyptian salon of photography, Hanager gallery, Opera House, Cairo.
2006 – ‘Port Said 1st photo festival’, Port Said.
2005 – ‘Time’, Egyptian salon of photography, Music hall, Opera House, Cairo.

Awards
2021 – Chin Chin Award, VCA Art Grad Show, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
2021 – ​​Shorlisted: Incinerator Art Award for social change, Melbourne.
2019 – NOIR Darkroom Most Experimental Image, ‘ILFORD CCP Salon’, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne.
2013 – The Salon Award, the 24th Youth Salon, the Palace of Art, Cairo.
2011 – Golden Award, Sharjah Award for Arab photo, Sharjah.
2009 – Golden Award, Emirates International Photography Competition, Abu Dhabi.
2008 – Second Award, the UNDP, “Sailing the Nile” photo competition, Cairo.
2008 – Jury’s award, the Delegation of European Commission, Cairo.
2006 – Fourth Award “Red” photo contest, British Council.
2006 – Three Awards from Sakia 3rd and 4th photography Contests.

Acquisitions
Braunschweig museum of photography, Germany.
The Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt.
Various private collections in Egypt and Australia.

Bibliography
2014 – Photographing without a camera, a photo essay about the cell phone series of Downtown, Panorama, Mada Masr, Egypt.
2013 – Cairo: Open City: New Testimonies From An Ongoing Revolution, by Florian Ebner and Constanze Wicke.
2013 – Highlights of the 24th Youth Salon, by Mai Elwakil, Mada Masr, Egypt.
2013 – He was not a president for all, interview with Clara Gauthey, Bieler Tagblatt (Swiss newspaper), Switzerland.
2012 – The forum section: Artists from Cairo, selected by Mia Jankowicz (Contemporary Image Collective, Kairo) and Constanze Wicke (Museum für Photographie, Braunschweig), CAMERA AUSTRIA 118.
2012 – Inside story of “Masr Station”, interview with Laurence Cornet, Le Journal de la Photographie.
2012 – Removing the Past: Shift Delete 30, by Aida Eltorie, Nafas Art Magazine.
2010 – Alternative News Agency, publication by the Contemporary Image Collective (CIC).

Residencies
2023 – Melbourne Art Library, Melbourne, Australia.
2022 – Gertrude Studio Program, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia.
2011 – Centre D’Art I Natura, Farrera, Catalonia, Spain.

Others
2016 – Teaching photography basics for the Fine Arts students at the training program of Studio Khana, Cairo.
2015 – Teaching Van-Dyke printing process in a one-day workshop at ASCII foundation, Cairo.
2015 – Student seminar, a presentation for the Mass Communication students, AUC, Cairo.
2014 – Talk about experimental photography at the second conference of the Arab Union of Photographers, Cairo.
2015 – Slideshow screening at Aleppo International Photo Festival, Aleppo, Syria.
2011 – Slideshow screening at Bursa 1st International Photography Festival, Turkey.

Workshops
Dora McRae Oil Painting Masterclass, by Richard Lewar, VCA, Melbourne.
The Picture Story, by John Perkins, Townhouse Gallery for Contemporary Art, Cairo.
Camera Lucida, by Ronnie Close and Nadia Mounier, CIC, Cairo.
Light, by Xenia Nikolskaya, CIC, Cairo.
Pinhole, by Hamdy Reda, Artellewa, Cairo.
The Wrong Picture, by Osama Dawood, CIC, Cairo.
Alternative News Agency, by Randa Shaath, Rana El-Nemr, Alaa AbelNabi and Thomas Hartwell, Cairo.
Open Lab Egypt, a workshop for the production of interactive video and audio projects organized by the Spanish media lab of Hangar and the Egyptian artspace Medrar, Cairo.
One Minutes Films, video art workshop, Townhouse Gallery for Contemporary Art, Cairo.

Professional Software Development Experience
2021: current – National Australia Bank (NAB)
2020: 2021 – Metro Trains Melbourne
2019: 2020 – Australia Post
2016: 2018 – NBN Australia
2015: 2016 – Hewlett Packard Enterprise
2013: 2015 – Vodafone Egypt
2009: 2013 – HP