A Catastrophic Fall from Power

Near the bottom of our faded billboard, Arabic letters spell out (right-to-left): Mohamed Hosni Mubarak. The flattering illustration depicts a heroic man in the prime of life and solidly in control — the undisputed modern Egyptian Pharaoh who had ruled his kingdom twenty-eight years. Two years after I made this image an insurrection forced Mubarak from his powerful office; his health deteriorated; he went on trial for abusing executive power; also he stood accused of murder and embezzlement. He spent the next ten years before his death under arrest, often sick in military hospitals, finally confined to a prison cell with multi-million dollar judgments against him. Over what remained of his life he coped with heart failure, an accidental broken leg and cracked ribs; he experienced depression, isolation, and saw both his children incarcerated for crimes tied to his regime.