Desert Cities

Aglaia Konrad focuses a direct gaze on cities such as Cairo, Alexandria, and Anwar el Sadat. This is not classic architectural or documentary photography: her way of seeing things is unadorned and draws our attention straight to the history of the real setting. The photographs show the application of “modernist” principles to architectural development in desert landscapes. They spotlight an improbable dialogue between imported models and vernacular elements, constructions and sites, desert and communities, modernity and tradition.