1
Faculty Member, Department of Architecture and Art, Mazandaran University of Science and Technology
2
Faculty Member of the Faculty of Art and Architecture at PUM University
Abstract
Problem Statement: The graffiti of the 2010 Egyptian Revolution, as one of the most influential forms of street art in the Middle East, played a key role in representing the discourse of resistance. Despite the existence of historical and political studies on this event, there remains a research gap regarding the analysis of the internal mechanisms of meaning production within these artworks.
Research Objective: This study aims to conduct a semiotic analysis of the graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution based on Algirdas Julien Greimas’s theory of the Generative Trajectory of Meaning and to examine how urban events are transformed into enduring semantic systems.
Research Methodology: The research adopts a descriptive-analytical method with a qualitative approach. The samples were purposefully selected from prominent works by the artists Ganzeer, Keizer, “Without Walls” Campaign, and Alaa Awad. Greimas’s three-level model (surface structure, intermediate structure, and deep structure) was employed as the analytical framework. Following structural analysis, the data were organized within binary oppositions and actantial models.
Findings: The findings demonstrate that meaning in these works is generated through a systematic semiotic process. At the surface level, visual oppositions such as war machines versus civilians are evident; at the intermediate level, narrative oppositions such as oppression versus resistance emerge; and at the deep level, fundamental oppositions such as power versus freedom or resistance versus submission play a central role. The analysis indicates that the graffiti, through the reinterpretation of ancient symbols and their combination with modern themes, contributed to reconstructing revolutionary identity and sustaining the discourse of resistance within public space.
Conclusion: The semiotic analysis reveals that the graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution functioned as cultural texts that reconstructed the reality of the revolution through transformations across multiple semiotic levels. By employing the symbolic capacities of icons, the female body, and urban walls, these artworks succeeded in preserving collective memory against official narratives of power. Consequently, street art became a strategic instrument for political activism and the reassertion of citizenship agency.
Esmaeilpour,S and Amani,H . (2026). Semiotic Analysis of the Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution Based on A. J. Greimas’s Generative Trajectory of Meaning. (e248118). Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient, (), e248118 doi: 10.22034/jaco.2026.582822.1537
MLA
Esmaeilpour,S , and Amani,H . "Semiotic Analysis of the Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution Based on A. J. Greimas’s Generative Trajectory of Meaning" .e248118 , Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient, , , 2026, e248118. doi: 10.22034/jaco.2026.582822.1537
HARVARD
Esmaeilpour S, Amani H. (2026). 'Semiotic Analysis of the Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution Based on A. J. Greimas’s Generative Trajectory of Meaning', Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient, (), e248118. doi: 10.22034/jaco.2026.582822.1537
CHICAGO
S Esmaeilpour and H Amani, "Semiotic Analysis of the Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution Based on A. J. Greimas’s Generative Trajectory of Meaning," Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient, (2026): e248118, doi: 10.22034/jaco.2026.582822.1537
VANCOUVER
Esmaeilpour S, Amani H. Semiotic Analysis of the Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution Based on A. J. Greimas’s Generative Trajectory of Meaning. JACO. 2026;():e248118 (In Persian). doi: 10.22034/jaco.2026.582822.1537