Menu
When we speak of an ancient culture such as the Islamic world, one of the biggest challenges of holding an exhibition- and which is also one of its greatest satisfactions – is updating the legacy of this culture, so as to allow visitors to see the bridge between roots and tradition and the current production of this art. With 47 works produced by 19 artists of Islamic origin – Shadi Ghadirian, Shirin Neshat, Bita Ghezelayagh (Iran), Khaled Hafez and Susan Hefuna, Wael Shawky (Egypt), Ali Talib, Hassan Massoudy (Iraq), Halil Altindere, Sener Ozmen (Turkey), Kamel Yahioui (Algeria), Laila Shawa, Malileh Afnan, Taysir Batniji (Palestine), Mounir Fatmi (Morocco), Shezad Dawood (England), Rachid Koraichi (Algeria), Ramia Obaid (Syria) and Brazilian Lucia Koch – the Mirages exhibition offers a counterpoint to the traditional view based on the contemporary questions that are posed by each one of these artists, where the cultural root can even be a starting point, but the interest is in their personal paths and arrivals. Through different artistic expressions such as painting, sculpture, installation, photography and audiovisual production, it is possible to find the recurring themes in this art, its contemporary expression, its connection of socio-political issues with cultural roots, and especially the predominance of writing and the word in the Arabic culture. The poetics of the artists that are part of the exhibition contribute to disrupt the homogenizing and reductionist views of the Islamic world, stereotyped views that the West has always had about the East, and to show through their art the critical awareness of these societies and the unique identity of their presence in the language and reality of the contemporary world.
