Laura El -Tantawy (born in 1980 ) is an Egyptian photographer and self-publisher of limited edition artist publications of her work.Born in Worcestershire,England to Egyptian parents, she attended high school in Saudi Arabia, started university in Cairo, Egypt, earned her undergraduate degree in the US and and her masters degree in the UK. Living  between East and West for much of her life has been a source of both, immense enlightenment and considerable  anxiety — contemplating notions of home, identity, culture and ultimately, ‘the self’. It is through the allure of photography as an artistic medium of limitless boundaries that she chooses to explore those themes. With her characteristically painterly and impressionistic eye on reality, Laura explores social and environmental issues  pertaining to her background.

Beyond Here is Nothing (2011-2017)

Enclosed between four walls, the sound of silence never seemed louder. ItÕs claustrophobic. I wait for the phone to ring, check for emails obsessively, eat everything out of the fridge. The hunger remains. I feel like if I dig my hand deep into my soul, I will find nothing. The awareness I am experiencing is unspeakable. Faces change when we meet. Is their solitude reflected in mine? There is an awkward silence. In it, a minute feels like an hour. An hour a day. A day can be a lifetime.

In The Shadow of the Pyramids (2005-2014)

the of the Pyramids Pyramids is a first person account exploring memory and identity. With images spanning from 2005 to 2014, what began as a look in the mirror to understand the essence of Egyptian identity expanded into an exploration of the trials and tribulations of a turbulent nation.The result is dark, sentimental and passionate . Juxtaposing the innocence of the past with the obscurity of the present, the work is an experience edited to look like  a one night’s encounter .

Link to the photographer’s page, click here