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P a s t E x h i b i t i o n |
SHATAT:
Arab Diaspora Women Artists
Guest Curated by Salah M. Hassan |
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 Fatma Charfi Portrait, 2002 slide projection (dimensions variable) Courtesy of the artist (c) Fatma Charfi |
SHATAT: Arab Diaspora Women Artists brings together the works of four women artists from the Arab diaspora. The Arab diaspora, resulting--in part--from past and present colonialism, and the political, social and economic contexts, is present in many 'Western' countries. The major aim of the exhibition is to present contemporary work from England, Switzerland, Germany and the United States that explores this experience of diaspora through visual art practice. SHATAT, referenced in the exhibition¹s title, is the Arabic word for diaspora, but it also means scattering or dispersal, referring to the complexity of the diaspora experience. The dialogue of translating cultural difference explored in the work of these four artists is particularly relevant to recent international and local debate around globalizationæa debate about the increased 'blurring' of geographical and cultural boundaries that has emerged not only from political and economical displacements, but also from the spread of new communication and information technologies. At the center of this is the question of identity and representation of Arab people and the Arab diaspora in the West. The work critically examines racism, gender identities, histories and contemporary political concerns. Through their work, questions arise: What is it to be an Arab in Germany, Switzerland, Britain or the United States? What is it to be an Arab woman? What is the Gulf War experience for a Swiss-Tunisian? What are the complexities of witnessing the Intifada between New York and Ramallah? Etc. | |
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important theme of SHATAT is that of gender and the
representation of the female body. The stereotypes of Arab and Middle
Eastern women, that have been circulating for more than a century
and are still found in contemporary western societies, have been
a source of exploration and concern for the four artists. Representing
the female body is a tool by which the artists challenge stereotypes
of Orientalist representation--the Arab woman as passive, obedient
and exotic object. By stepping into the frame of representation at
this point in history, contemporary artists of the Arab diaspora
are reclaiming their bodies and subverting the ideologies, which
have dominated for too long. The exhibition and lecture series seeks
to further question these dominant narratives. Salah M. Hassan *This project is developed in collaboration with Zineb Sedira whom I wish to acknowledge. Salah M. Hassan (Guest Curator) is Chair of the Department of the History of Art and associate professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. He is editor of Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art, and consulting editor for African Arts and Atlantica. He is author and editor of several books including Unpacking Europe co-edited with Iftikhar Dadi (2001); Authentic Ex-Centric, co-edited with Olu Oguibe; Gendered Visions: The Art of Contemporary Africana Women Artists (1997) and co-editor with Philip Altbach of The Muse of Modernity: Essays on Culture as Development in Africa (Africa World Press, 1996). He also contributed to art journals and anthologies including: The Art of African Fashion (1998); Women, Patronage, and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies (edited by D. Fairchild Ruggles, 1999); and Reading the Contemporary edited by Olu Oguibe and Okwui Enwezor (1999). Hassan has curated Unpacking Europe (Rotterdam, 2001); EV+A 2001 Expanded, (Limerick, Ireland); Fatma Charfi is a Tunisian artist living in Bern, Switzerland. Through complex installation, sculpture and performance works, Charfi explores the problem of Diaspora. Her work investigates the complexity of displacement, of being a North African woman living in Swiss society. She has exhibited widely across Europe and North Africa, including the International Contemporary Art Biennale, Alexandria, Egypt (1999), the Dakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal (2002), the Sculpture Triennale, Berne, Switzerland (2002), and the Centre d'Art contemporain Santander, Spain (2002). This is the first exhibition of her work in the United States. Susan Hefuna is of German-Egyptian bicultural heritage. This dual heritage informs much of the artist's work. Through photography, video, and digital media, Hefuna explores the indeterminacy of location and identity and the negotiation of an Arab, Muslim, and Christian identity while living and traveling in Europe and Cairo. Currently a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Pforzfeim, Germany, Hefuna has exhibited throughout Europe and North Africa at venues including Al Nitaq Festival, Cairo, Egypt (2002), Sharon Esor Gallery, London, England (2002), Vacio 9 Gallery, Madrid, Spain (2000), National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2000), Biennale Cairo, Egypt (1998), and Brigitte March Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany (1998). Emily Jacir is a New York-based Palestinian artist whose work focuses on issues of movement (both forced and voluntary), dislocation, radical displacement, and resistance and addresses the unconscious markers of borders (both real and imagined) between territories, places, countries and states. She has exhibited her work internationally at spaces that include Anadiel Gallery, New Gate/Old City, Jerusalem (2002), Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY (2002), Moderna Gallerja in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2000), the Whitney Independent Open Studios, NY (1999), Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris France (1998), at the Contemporary Art Center of Fort Worth, TX (1997), and YYZ Artists Outlet in Toronto, Canada (1996) amongst many other venues. Zineb Sedira is a London-based artist from Algeria whose work explores the ways in which her identity is informed by religion, culture, and gender. She does this by appropriating the traditionally male art form of Arabesque ceramic tiles in her installation Quatre Generations de Femmes. In her video installation Mother Tongue, 2002 comprised of three elements: Mother and I (France), Daughter and I (England) and Grandmother and Granddaughter (Algeria) she examines identity, gender, representation, language, translation, oral narrative and family. In this complex work, three languages are spoken, Arabic, French and English. Zineb Sedira has exhibited widely across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Her work was recently shown as part of the Venice Biennale (2001) and has also been featured in exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum , London, UK (2002), Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark (2000), the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, UK (1998). This exhibition is part of a joint program of the CU Art Galleries and The Department of Fine Arts, Visiting Artist Program, University of Colorado at Boulder RELATED EVENTS: Panel Discussion: Contextualizing
Shatat |
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| The CU Art Museum is located in the Sibell-Wolle Fine Arts Building on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, just north of the Euclid Auto Park and one block east of the corner of Euclid and Broadway. Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 10 am - 5 pm Saturday, 12 - 4 pm. Call 303-492-8300 for more information. | ||