Palais de Tokyo, Paris
February 2020
February 21–September 13, 2020
The exhibition Our World is Burning offers an entirely political view of international contemporary art 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 does not only signify danger. It is also a symbol of the formidable democratic élan experienced by this region during the Arab Spring. In this way, the exhibition draws up a fragmentary, sensitive map addressing the numerous societal transformations in the Middle East through the context of global crises surrounding political debate and environmental fragility.
From the destruction of Iraqi treasures (Michael Rakowitz) to the fate of Syrian refugees (Mounira Al Solh) and the accepting of financial backing from the Taliban through the exploitation of lapis lazuli (Asli Çavuşoğlu), 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 reflection 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) to participate in the debate about the need to change our exploitative relationship with nature.
The exhibition affirms art's ability to intervene when confronted with the disorders of the world. In this vein, fire refers to the intensity of artistic creation, as exemplified by works set in the wake of popular uprisings across the Arab world (Shirin Neshat, Amal Kenawy, Bady Dalloul) and that display a deep desire for social justice (Mustapha Akrim, Danh Vo, Faraj Daham, Kader Attia). From a postcolonial 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.
Catalogue published on the occasion the exhibition Our World Is Burning presented at the Palais de Tokyo (Paris) in collaboration with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Doha).
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