A Sufi Muslim man sways rhythmically in commemoration of the birthday of 13th century jurist Ahmad al-Badawi in Cairo, Egypt, some time in the mid to late 1990s. (Photographer: Denis Dailleux)
Egypt, specifically Cairo, is a cultural hub in the Middle East, responsible for significant contributions to music, film, art, and literature. Egyptian society is widely characterized as lively, welcoming, passionate, and effusive.
French photographer Denis Dailleux has spent years trying to capture this expressive element of Egyptian society. Despite being an outsider, he has worked tirelessly since the 1990s to immerse himself into Egyptian working class society, slowly moving into more private domains, inching into community spaces like cafes and eventually into family homes, joining Egyptians in celebration and in grief. It is reported that he lives full time in Egypt now. Some of his latest work documents the sacrifices many Egyptian families experienced during the Arab Spring revolution.
Dailleux’s printed work is typically square-shaped. His earlier work was largely in black and white.