Ranchod has come a long way since a book that illustrated the work of famous Catalan Modernism proponent Antoni Gaudi inspired him to study architecture. His thesis, entitled ‘Hyperreal Perspicuities: Multi-Narrative Reconstructions of Modern Egypt’, investigates drawing as representation, and develops prototypes in the form of drawings, instruments and immersive videos. These prototypes develop modes of representation that subvert linear viewpoints and illustrate the multiplicity of narratives embedded within space.

Focusing on modern Egypt between 1827 and 1952, the project uses drawing to construct “the hidden hauntings of colonialism and modernisation across three main historical events,” namely the Battle of Navarino, the Bombardment of Alexandria and the 1952 Cairo Fire.