On June 9, 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser appeared on television and radio to declare military defeat and announce his resignation. For many, this moment marked the first hint of the full scope of the loss and the doom of the pan-Arab vision that Nasser himself had led and inspired.
Composed from found footage of Nasser’s resignation speech, the video montage »My Whole Heart is With You« removes his words, leaving only the moments in between – the breath and sigh, the clearing of the throat, the rustle of paper, the smack of lips, the studio’s held tension.
Cropped to the three microphones and Nasser’s mouth, the video asks viewers to watch differently – cutting, layering, and looping pauses until an entirely new speech emerges, one that drips, drones, and struggles for words. In this reconfigured rhythm, silence becomes the language of loss; the intervals between words reveal the weight of defeat itself. In a moment when many are at a loss for words, the work invites viewers to linger in these suspended moments, to listen not to what is spoken, but to what falters, trembles, and remains unsaid.
Essa Grayeb is a 2025/26 Visual Arts fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin-Program.
CTM 2026 Exhibition
24.1. – 22.3.2026 | Free entry
daadgalerie & Kunstraum Kreuzberg