Decay - The Eater
Concept, Preformance, and music scoring done by the Artist: Mostafa Darwish
Video Performance: Mostafa Darwish
Video Editing and Animation : Mostafa Darwish
Music composing and scoring: Mostafa Darwish 2019
Egyptian Mythology. The nightly battle of ma'at and Isfet.
Ma’at is the concept of “good” will power in Egyptian Mythology, as it also personifies itself as a goddess. Ma’at governs truth, Balance, order, harmony, law and justice, and morality. Dualism is a strong philosophical concept that Ancient Egyptian pertained in their political, social structure, and religious views. With good comes chaos, and thus brings the purpose of choice and consequence. A dualism paradigm philosophy where one thing cannot exist without its opposite. Isfet as to Ma’at, and Ma’at as to Isfet. Isfet is destruction, disorder, decay, and chaos. Its purpose is to alternate a balance in the realm and cosmos, as a result of the creation of Ma’at .
Ra, the sun deity, bestowed the power from Ma’at to protect and shine the world with the light. With Ra’s birth, Apep was born of his same umbilical cord. Following the dualistic concept, Apep is the consequence of Ra’s birth, embodying the will of Isfet. Every night Ra overcome Apep, ensured by the prayers of priests and worshippers at the temple. Until the day of the ritual, the annual banishing of chaos. Ra is yet again victorious for another year, protecting everyone from the chaos Apep might bring.
The video is a symbolic illustrated narrative done with sound, visual, movement, and progression of time, projected on seven carefully aligned pieces of Plexi glasses in a dark room. The Music composition guides the viewer into the mood of the narrative, while transitions occur in sync with the music composition. The video describes the Ancient Egyptian Mythology of Ra and Apep, narrating symbolically the daily battle of RA overcoming Apep. The video hints toward an infinite cycle of cyclical sequence, where metaphorically the sun is represented in the illumination. The light is being engulfed and devoured until the light takes over and illuminates overwhelmingly.