The exhibition Our World is Burning offers a fully political view of international contemporary creation seen from the Gulf, where wars and diplomatic tensions have constantly determined the history of the early 21st century. The title explicitly refers to the human disasters generated by the successive conflicts in this region, while bringing in as broadly as possible the ecological catastrophes embodied by the immensely destructive forest fires from Amazonia to Siberia, without forgetting California. But fire is not just a statement of danger. Ambivalently, it is also a symbol of the formidable democratic élan experienced by this region during the Arab Springs.

From the destruction of Iraqi treasures (Michael Rakowitz) to the fate of Syrian refugees (Monira Al Solh) while taking in the financial backing of the Taliban through the exploitation of lapis lazuli (Asli Cavusoglu), “Our World is Burning” presents a complex intermeshing of events, to which the artworks allude while offering multiple poetic perspectives.

The exhibition opens with a reflexion on the issue of the Anthropocene (John Akomfrah, Yto Barrada, Raqs Media Collective) and the question of the use of natural resources (Monira Al Qadiri,  Sammy Baloji, Fabrice Hyber) in order to participate in the debate about the need to change our exploitative relationship with nature. 

It affirms that artworks have the ability to intervene by adopting a position when confronted with the disorders of the world. Fire then refers to the intensity of artistic creation – as in the pieces that are set in the heritage of popular uprisings in the Arab world (Shirin Neshat, Amal Kenawy, Bady Dalloul) and display a deep desire for social justice (Mustapha Akrim, Danh Vo, Faraj Daham, Kader Attia).

From a post-colonial viewpoint, the multiplication of historical narratives (Amina Menia, Bouthayna Al Muftah, Wael Shawky, Dominique Hurth) thus becomes a way to affirm alternative versions and thus to trace out the premises for a pluralistic society, with less hierarchical and more horizontal structures.

As part of the “Fragmenting the World” season proposed by the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the exhibition highlights the exceptional collection of the Arab Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MATHAF) founded in 2010 from the private collection of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani.

Engaged in a post-colonial approach, MATHAF insists on cultural exchanges and questions the artistic heritage of Qatar in relation to globalization. Advocating the development of modernity in the Arab countries, it is developing its activities in the educational field and aims to be an institution that is both localized and open in a world of multiple centres. MATHAF thus defines itself as a non-hegemonic and non-normative museum that calls for “new power relations and cultural translations” in line with the thinking of Okwui Enwezor.

Our World is Burning is an exhibition curated by Abdellah Karroum, director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar. Karroum previously founded L’Appartement 22 in Rabat in 2002 and curated the 2012 La Triennale alongside its artistic director, the late Okwui Enwezor.

Due to the evolution of the current health situation and following indications from the French government, this exhibition is suspended until further notice. 

With:

John Akomfrah, Mustapha Akrim, Francis Alÿs, Kader Attia, Mounira Al Solh, Bouthayna Al Muftah, Monira Al Qadiri, Sophia Al Maria, Sammy Baloji, Yto Barrada, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Faraj Daham, Bady Dalloul, Inji Efflatoun, Khalil El Ghrib, Mounir Fatmi, Fabrice Hyber, Dominique Hurth, Amal Kenawy, Amina Menia, Shirin Neshat, Otobong Nkanga, Sara Ouhaddou, Michael Rakowitz, Younes Rahmoun, Wael Shawky, Oriol Vilanova, Danh Vo, Raqs Media Collective

Curator : Abdellah Karoum

Co-curator : Fabien Danesi

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Self-taught, he has developed his own theory of movement and architecture, today resulting in an artistic form on the crossroads between performance, sculpture and new media. As keen on linguistics as he is on physical theatre (Ecole Jacques Lecoq), he follows logical systems that are non-linear and self-sufficient, and which are often best understood when they are connected with each other. His work is generally based on techniques inspired from religious rites and rituals,ranging from butō to the ballroom, new technologies or hypnosis.  

The artist’s performance is part of the Palais de Tokyo de Paris programme entitled “La Manutention – Performers in residence”.Launched in 2017, la Manutention is a new format that welcomes and encourages exploration and experimentation, providing artists the opportunity to develop their practices and produces original performances at the occasion of four performatives evenings for one month, giving visitors the opportunity to discover the artists’ world and an occasion to follow the evolution of their ongoing work

*The event can be accessed only upon presentation of an entry ticket.

→ Ticket access / Palais de Tokyo

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n just one decade, Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates has incubated compelling new models for legacy building, social transformation, and making art. Encompassing sculpture, painting, ceramics, video, performance, and music, his art both derives from and sustains ambitious urban renewal projects, creating hubs and archives for black culture, which serve as catalysts for discussions on race, equality, space, and history.

Theaster Gates works as an artist and land theorist. His practice includes sculpture, installation, performance and urban interventions that demonstrate the tremendous use value in economically destabilized communities. His projects attempt to instigate the creation of cultural capital by acting as catalysts for social engagement that leads to political and spatial change. Theaster Gates has described his method as “critique through collaboration” – often working with architects, researchers and performers to create works that expand ideas of what visual-based practices can be.

For his first solo museum exhibition in France, the artist has initiated an entirely new project that explores social histories of migration and interracial relations using a specific episode in American history as his point of departure to address larger questions of black subjugation and the imperial sexual domination and racial mixing that resulted from it. These historical themes and their material realities have given rise to new cinematographic, sculptural and musical perspectives in Theaster Gates’s oeuvre, while enabling Theaster Gates to examine the history of land ownership and race relations in the Northeastern United States.

The starting point of the exhibition, entitled “Amalgam,” is the story of Malaga Island in the state of Maine, USA: In 1912, the state governor expelled from Malaga the poorest population, an interracial, mixed community of about 45 people, considered “indolent” by many of the local white inhabitants. These unfortunate people were forced to relocate throughout the mainland; some were even involuntarily committed to psychiatric institutions.

The technical term “amalgam” has also been used in the past to denote racial, ethnic and religious mingling. For Theaster Gates, it has acquired an even more charged significance, impelling his practice towards new formal and conceptual explorations in film, sculpture, architecture, and music.

The exhibition “Amalgam” is curated by Ms. Katell Jaffrès and will be on view until May 12, 2019 at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris ( France).

→ Ticket access / Palais de Tokyo

*This exhibition benefits from the support of Regen Projects gallery (Los Angeles), Richard Gray gallery (Chicago) and White Cube (London and Hong Kong). With additional support from Gagosian.

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