The Creative Currents of Cairo

Dina A. Amin is a stop motion artist and maker from Cairo, Egypt, who transforms discarded objects into captivating stories. With a background in Industrial Design, she launched Tinker Friday on Instagram, a stop motion series blending animation and product design that reveals the hidden beauty inside everyday items while challenging consumerism. Her passion led to the creation of Tinker Studio, where she produces imaginative stop-motion videos for clients worldwide. Dina’s work invites us to see the overlooked and ordinary in extraordinary ways.

We met up with Dina in Cairo, to hear about her stop-motion tinkering and her take on the current Egyptian creative scene.

1. What is happening on the stop-motion and design scene in Cairo?

The Egyptian creative scene is relatively new compared to the rest of the world. Over the past 10 years there has been rapid growth. Starting by being trend-driven, and trying to catch up, to now being more authentic and swayed by the unique perspective that Egypt has to offer.

Before a lot of designers used to try to keep up with the global trend and narrative. But now the demand has shifted. Local companies want to showcase their unique culture, identity, and voice. They want to be accurately portrayed. I believe this is the beginning of a very long explorative journey of the Egyptian design scene.

The creative community is small but strong. It is noticeably different in terms of skills and how people think and tackle problems. Egyptian Designers, depending on their chosen field, do things differently according to their source of inspiration. Some are inspired by the very powerful foundation of Ancient Egyptian history and iconic style, some by the cultural mindset on adaptability and how to approach problems and hack their way through. Some are guided by revisiting historical art and the advancement of cultural layers that have followed.

A lot of richness is represented and is very apparent in the current creative scene in Cairo, due to their impressive historical roots and their approach to finding solutions. The present challenge is striking the balance on how to build from an already solid foundation – without reducing luster.

2. Is the ancient Egyptian culture and legacy present in your work?

Extraordinary visual art by Dina A. Amin.

I am more inspired by the Egyptian mentality compared to our historical heritage. I am drawn to how communities live with limited resources. They are excessively frugal and utilize everything. They have the ability to just hack anything, use something unthinkable and completely unrelated to make things function and solve problems.

We have a saying in Egypt: “The clever one, is the one who can knit with a donkey leg”. In other words, making something that is not doable – doable. Actually, it isn’t just doable, you create something impressive, out of this very unreasonable process. Regardless of resources, materials, and tools, you can produce something remarkable – that is the mentality I strive to emulate.

All of my work is an example of this. I usually work with trash as a medium. I turn it into stop-motion animation or physical objects. It is always something that the regular on-looker will regard as trash and usually throw away. Because they see it as an insignificant and mundane item. I take the disregarded object and turn it into something extraordinary. Either visually or as an experience revealing or transforming it into something that will be perceived differently.

3. Any animators and/or illustrators from Egypt that you recommend that can inspire the global community?

There are a few really good ones. I recommend following all five of these creators and their journey on Instagram:

Muhammad Mustafa, Cairo based Illustrator and Visual Artist. See Muhammad’s work via https://www.instagram.com/oracle_ostraca/ or on his website muharts.com.

Visuals from Muhammad Mustafa’s Instagram account @oracle_ostraca.

Mariam ElReweny, An Egyptian Freelance Artist based in Cairo. Get inspired by Mariam’s work by viewing her instagram https://www.instagram.com/mariamrew/ or her website mariamrew.com.

Visual pieces from Mariam ElReweny’s Instagram.

Toka Assal, A Graphic Designer that focuses on branding, packaging design and typography. View Toka’s work on https://www.instagram.com/toka_artworks/