Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Akram Zaatari,
Hashem El Madani—Palestinian resistant,
Studio Shehrazade, Saïda, Lebanon, 1970– 72.

New York City • Art & Culture

A New History

An in-depth look at the role and impact of contemporary art in the Arab world...

Rob Wilkes •

Here and Elsewhere, an exhibition at New York’s New Museum, aims to look beyond the headlines of conflict and religious repression in the Arab world and bring to light the best and most interesting of the region’s contemporary art. In the mid 1970s, a group of French filmmakers including Jean-Luc Godard set out to make a pro-Palestinian film-essay, but the film they eventually made – called Here and Elsewhere – was a broader and more complex look at the use of imagery as a tool of political consciousness. This show takes both its name and inspiration from the film, and looks specifically at the role of the artist as influenced by historical events.

The way in which art challenges the prevailing historical accounts and offers alternative narratives to important happenings is examined in this exhibition, as is the role of individual experience, the weaving together of real and imagined fragments of memories, and experimental treatment of archival material. Here and Elsewhere runs from 16 July to 28 September at the museum on Bowery.

@newmuseum

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Marwa Arsanios,
Have You Ever Killed a Bear? Or Becoming Jamila, 2013–14 (still).
Video, color, sound; 28 min.
Courtesy the artist

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Fouad Elkoury,
Color snapshot, Place des Canons (Beirut 1982), 2014.
Digital inkjet print, 15 3/4 x 23 5/8 in (40 x 60 cm).
Courtesy the artist, the Third Line, Dubai,
and Galerie Tanit, Munich/Beirut

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Ali Jabri,
Red Sea, from the “Nasser” series, ca. 1977– 83.
Collage, 7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in (20 x 14.8 cm).
Courtesy Diala al Jabiri

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Jamal Penjweny,
“Saddam is Here,” 2010.
Chromogenic print, 23 5/8 x 31 1/2 in (60 x 80 cm).
Courtesy Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Abdullah Al Saadi,
Camar Cande’s Journey, 2010–11 (detail).
151 watercolour paintings, video, color, sound; 59:41 min,
overall dimensions variable.
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation.
Courtesy the artist.
Image: Courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Hrair Sarkissian,
“Execution Squares,” 2008.
Archival inkjet print, 23 3/4 x 30 1/2 in (60.5 x 77.4 cm).
Courtesy the artist and Kalfayan Galleries, Athens/Thessaloniki

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Ziad Antar,
Murr Tower, Wadi Abu Jmil, Built In 1973,
from the “Expired” series, 2009.
Gelatin silver print, 19 3/4 x 19 3/4 in (50 x 50 cm).
Courtesy the artist and Selma Feriani Gallery, London

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Yto Barrada,
N du mot Nation en arabe, Tanger
(N of the Nation in Arabic, Tangier), 2003.
Chromogenic print, 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in (80 x 80 cm).
Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut/Hamburg

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Shuruq Harb,
The Keeper, 2011–13 (detail).
Installation with video, includes photographs, wires,
clips, and street sign, dimensions variable.
Installation view: Darat al Funun, Amman.
Courtesy the artist.
Photo: Bashar Alaeddin

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Hiwa K,
This Lemon Tastes of Apple, 2011 (still).
Video, color, sound; 13:26 min.
Courtesy the artist

Here and Elsewhere at New Museum, New York

Mounira Al Solh,
Now Eat My Script, 2014 (still).
Video, color, sound; 24:50 min.
Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut/Hamburg

Lead image extra credits:
From “Objects of study/The archive of Shehrazade/
Hashem el Madani/Studio practices,” 2006.
Gelatin silver print, 11 1/2 x 11 1/2 in (29 x 29 cm).
Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut/Hamburg