(she/none هي/هن) is a Swiss-Egyptian multidisciplinary designer, researcher, curator, and educator among other things. Her current projects explore the complexities of shifting identities seen through concepts of migration, assimilation and interaction, as well as the role of image, media and embodied knowledge in understanding and mediating these ambiguities and entanglements. With a deep commitment to fostering exchange, collaboration, and dialogue, she seeks to create dynamic spaces that invite critical reflection and imagination. Drawing on a rich and diverse array of intellectual and artistic influences, Mayar El Bakry’s work is deeply rooted in decolonial and intersectional feminist studies and practices and her lived experience. She has received several grants and commissions for her work and has been invited to be a guest lecturer at several prestigious institutions.

Mayar El Bakry / Sebastián Vivero
‘Between Rubble and Ice: Unravelling Mountain Permafrost – Rock Glaciers as Sites of Artistic and Scientific Inquiry’

The tandem consisting of Mayar El Bakry (artistic researcher and designer) and Sebastián Vivero (EPFL, Laboratory of Catchment Hydrology and Geomorphology, CHANGE) brings together artistic practice and environmental science. The project treats rock glaciers as climatic, cultural, and temporal agents-sites where environmental transformation, scientific uncertainty, and cultural memory intersect.

The project approaches rock glaciers and permafrost not solely as objects to be measured but as relational entities that shape how humans inhabit, ritualise, and remember land. Their destabilisation reveals dependencies and assumptions of permanence, opening space for collective reflection through storytelling, ritual, and mourning practices. The project includes joint field trips to the Peruvian Andes and the Swiss Alps.

‘Sustained dialogue between artistic and scientific practices explores rock glaciers not only as environmental objects but as culturally relational spaces, opening ethical and affective dimensions such as loss, grief, and changing human–land relationships.’ (Mayar El Bakry / Sebastián Vivero)

PolArts selected tandem project

Mayar El Bakry – Designer & Researcher
mail@mayar.ch

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Don't hesitate to get in touch for feedback, commissions or collaboration.
Current location: Zürich, Switzerland

is my personal portfolio. All images, works and projects are subject to copyright. A more detailed portfolio can be provided upon request. To get in touch, feel free to shoot me an e-mail, a letter, or use your preferred communication method.

Website Design by Mayar El Bakry, Zürich

Cuddle Officer: Lennon, Zürich

Coding by Nulltype, Zürich

Marguerite Groteskt by Charlotte Rohde

Astrance by Mathilde Quentin

Favorit Arabic Variable by ABC Dinamo