Simone Weil and the art of attention

Nearly eight decades after her death, the French philosopher's reflections on suffering, attention, work, and moral seriousness continue to resonate

Bahaa Iy'ali

Are We Beyond the Past?

Ever since the dawn of time, we humans have struggled with one thing: our ego. This struggle is evident and emphasized in religious scriptures, language (e.g., We are humans instead of animals) and…

Saif Al Abri

Insufficiently Surreal

In 1936, Francis Bacon offered some of his works to the International Surrealist Exhibition, but they were rejected as ‘not sufficiently surreal.’ One suspects Bacon would have taken the rebuff in…

Bryn Haworth

Akhenaten Celebrated in Egypt’s Minya

Minya, a Middle Egyptian governorate located south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile, has history that dates back to the Predynastic Period (before 3100 BC). It will celebrate the opening…

Salwa Samir

Bemused by Bacon

There is a picture by Rembrandt of the carcass of an ox or bull. It is variously entitled Flayed Ox, Slaughtered Ox, Carcass of Beef or Side of Beef. Apparently, the subject was not uncommon in…

Bryn Haworth