Watch Out for Zuzu

Watch Out for Zuzu is part of Lara Baladi’s ongoing archival project Vox Populi, in Latin the “voice of the people,” which weaves historical correlations between the Arab uprisings and other global social movements through a wide range of images, videos, articles, and more. Watch Out for Zuzu focuses on the post-revolution political status quo. The central board game represents the 2011 Egyptian revolution and its aftermath. On the right, Middle Eastern countries are highlighted in red, representing the ‘Arab Spring.’ On the left, Western countries follow the movement with Occupy protests. By portraying Egyptian contemporary history as a board game, the fate of Egyptian citizens depends on a roll of the dice. The first three letters of the alphabet invites the next generations to continue speaking the language born in Tahrir Square. The two monitors allow us a glimpse into the vast Vox Populi archive which, while acting as a form of political resistance, contributes to recording, and interpreting, histories of Tahrir in resonance with other global, past and present, movements.