His membership in the Contemporary Art Group elevated his status as an artist through his utilization of social commentary in addition to the group's focus on traditional, Egyptian identity. [1]  This commentary is most widely recognized in his painting, The High Dam, in which he comments on the effects of modernization by the Egyptian government on society and their way of life. [2]  Since his death, his work has not ceased to challenge artists, intellectuals and critics both in Egypt and abroad.