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Jane Lombard Gallery, New York

Survival Signs, 2017
 

Survival Signs

Jane Lombard Gallery

September 7 – October 21, 2017

Curator: mounir fatmi

 

You can find the catalog at this link: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PJPNQB

 

Jane Lombard Gallery is pleased to present Survival Signs, Mounir Fatmi’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. His work directly addresses the current events in our world and speaks to those whose lives are affected by restrictive political climates. “Survival signs” can also be seen as cultural signs, images, objects, experiences, and their connections and relationships to our everyday life. Is our society fluid, open and accepting, or the opposite? Several of the works in the exhibition teeter along a fine line of interpretation; are they revealing moments of construction or destruction, lightness or darkness? The artist presents his works as signs of survival; elements that allow him to resist and understand the world and its changes.

Inside the Fire Circle, 2017 a large, interactive floor installation consisting of jumper cables, obsolete typewriters, and blank sheets of paper, serves as a focal point of the exhibition and allows visitors to “jump start” their story or history. For Fatmi, “the installation is like a palimpsest of the modern age; the rhythmic flow between the paper and the cables seem as if they are sending signals back and forth, but at each stop the information is erased and the process begins again. This is a reflection of the tendency of history to repeat itself. The recent rise in nationalism across Europe, from Brexit in the UK, the rise of the National Front in France, Holland, Hungary, to the United States, and the state of affairs in Russia, Turkey and elsewhere, all reaffirm this fear.” The artist wants the cables to symbolically jumpstart people out of their apathy so they can learn from the past and become actively involved in writing a new and different story on the blank pages.

Fatmi’s wall sculpture Defense, 2016 is both an architectural object and readymade. In many parts of the world, these spiraled, pointed bars of metal function as security bars, installed to protect from intruders. It is aggressive and dangerous, but when placed within the context of an exhibition it takes on an added aesthetic appeal, as a minimal sculpture that casts radiant shadows across the wall. The viewer must work around it in order to engage with the rest of the exhibition. Even in the distant past, these bars have been aesthetic and utilitarian, aggressive and attractive.

Another central work on view is a large photograph from The Blinding Light, 2013 - ongoing, a series of work inspired by a 15th century painting by Fra Angelico entitled The Healing of Deacon Justinian. The original painting depicts two saints, Cosmas and his brother Damian, grafting a black leg onto the deacon Justinian. Born in Syria, Cosmas and Damian were Arab by birth and later converted to Christianity. Fatmi’s photograph superimposes an image of the painting with an image from a contemporary surgical room. The transparency of images essentially fuses science and religion, present and past. Fatmi first saw this painting when he moved to Rome at age 17 to attend art school. He saw in himself a connection to being like that black leg, existing in a world that was not his own, in his case as a cultural transplant.

Calligraphy of Fire is a set of three black and white photographs. The images are enigmatic, as if offering a glimpse into a private ritual or an uncertain moment. For Fatmi, books and knowledge represent a means of survival, of opportunity, a path to independence, and a greater understanding of life. Calligraphy of Fire presents a set of situations, each of which links the idea of knowledge with light, and its absence, as darkness, a void. If the burning candle is symbolic of life, illumination, and knowledge, as it is throughout much of art history, in the left hand image the snuffed candle could suggest an impending opaqueness, the possible smudges as a form of censorship. On the right, the burning candle offers the possibility of light, yet if left unattended, the results will be destruction. In the center, the portrait of the artist suggests a movement from darkness into light, perhaps a path to self-awareness, growth, and even survival.

A small photo titled, Walking on the Light, shows a man at night, standing on the edge of circular light projection made by the artist titled, Technologia, which was a part of a 2012 exhibition in France. Fatmi took the photograph the night of the opening and it is only one of a few that exist as a few days later his installation was censored and removed from the exhibition. The light projection included verses from the Koran written out in beautiful calligraphy and combined into a swirling Marcel Duchamp inspired rotorelief. The controversy stemmed from the belief that the viewers would walk onto verses of the Koran, a sacred text, and as such considered destructive. But for Fatmi the work was about light and beauty, modernism and abstraction, and of course, no one could walk on those lines from the Koran as they were fleeting light, the shadow of the figure crossing onto the projection would in any case have blocked out the imagery under their feet.

At first glance, Roots, a triptych made from white antenna cable seems to be simply an aesthetically pleasing work, but in fact the artist seeks to confront a more philosophical question: Just how deep can roots go? At a time when issues of identity and borders are increasingly in the news and being taken up by the extremes, the sculpture Roots, defends the idea of harmony and stability through its interlacing composition, a metaphor for the possibility of eventual union. The antenna cable serves as both core material and valuable archive in the sense that it is quickly becoming an obsolete material. As such, the work itself and this archive find themselves in a similar position and create a sort of dialogue. The archive creates the work and the work stores the archive.

The video, History is not mine, is a piece made partially in response to censorship. The black and white video depicts a man whose face remains concealed as he strikes a typewriter with two hammers. The only color comes from the typewriter’s ribbon, a brilliant red the color of blood; a collision of the beauty of the written sentence and the violence and difficulty of its creation. The video plunges us into the role of witness and accomplice, as if we are almost a part of this story’s writing process. The simple and mundane gesture of striking the keys becomes crushing with the use of hammers. The weight that falls on the keys causes a deep, violent intonation. These effects, accentuated by the characteristic sound of a typewriter, also evoke the ticking of a clock or shots fired from a sub-machine gun. The artist urges the viewer to become aware of his or her stance vis-à-vis history. As evidenced by the title of the work, a feeling of hopelessness clearly emerges. The repetitive, angled shots overlooking the scene highlight a feeling of domination. By never showing the man’s face as he strikes the machine, Mounir Fatmi encourages the viewer to identify with his or her own experience. Everyone is a part of this story being written, the violence of the hammers, and the impossibility of writing something coherent with this method.

Alif, 2015-ongoing, photographic piece showing a man’s forearm, grasping a slightly curved and elongated shape like a dagger, is a series of photographs begun in 2015 and is a work in progress that is to be developed on a set of photographs, videos, and installations. This shape known as the “Alif,” is the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. Alif is one of the six so-called “unrelated letters” or “isolated letters,” meaning that it is never attached to the letter that follows.

 

New York, September 2017

 
Solo shows (selection)
 
2023
L'appartement 22 2023Piero Atchugarry Gallery 2023
Baró Galeria 2023
2022
Wilde Gallery 2022Ceysson & Bénétière 2022
Musée La Kasbah 2022Es Baluard Museu 2022
2021
Conrads Gallery 2021Officine dell'Immagine 2021
ADN 2021
2019
Skanstull Metro Station 2019Analix Forever 2019
Ceysson & Bénétière 2019Wilde Gallery 2019
2018
CDAN 2018Göteborgs Konsthall 2018
2017
Art Front Gallery 2017Officine dell'Immagine 2017
Galerie De Multiples 2017Analix Forever Gallery 2017
Jane Lombard Gallery 2017Galerie Delacroix 2017
Goodman Gallery 2017Lawrie Shabibi 2017
Analix Forever Gallery 2017Maisons des Arts du Grütli 2017
2016
ADN Platform 2016Keitelman Gallery 2016
Labanque 2016MMP+ 2016
2015
MAMCO 2015MIAMIBUS 2015
Analix Forever 2015
2014
CCC Tours 2014ADN Galeria 2014
ADN Platform 2014Analix Forever 2014
Yvon Lambert 2014
2013
Museum Kunst Palast 2013Keitelman Gallery 2013
Paradise Row 2013Institut Français de Casablanca 2013
Galerie Fatma Jellal 2013Analix Forever 2013
2012
Goodman Gallery 2012Shoshana Wayne Gallery 2012
Lombard-Fried Projects 2012
2011
Galerie Conrads 2011Fondazione Collegio San Carlo 2011
Galerie Hussenot 2011AKBank Sanat 2011
2010
Galerie Hussenot 2010
2009
Galerie Conrads 2009FRAC Alsace 2009
2008
Galerie Delacroix IFM 2008Creux de l'enfer 2008
2007
Galerie Ferdinand van Dieten 2007Musée national Pablo Picasso 2007
Shoshana Wayne Gallery 2007La maison rouge 2007
Lombard Freid projects 2007
2006
Bank galerie 2006
2005
CAC d'Istres 2005
2004
Espace des arts Colomiers 2004 CAC Le Parvis 2004
2003
Migros museum 2003
 
Biennials, Triennials (selection)
 
2022
Setouchi Triennale 2022
2020
Altai Biennale 2020
2019
Setouchi Triennale 2019SCREEN IT - Stadstriennale Hasselt Genk 5 2019
2018
13eme Biennale de Dakar 20187th Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale 2018
1er Biennale de Rabat 2018
2017
57th Venice Biennale 20177eme Biennale Architecture, Shenzhen 2017
11eme Biennale de Bamako 201715eme Biennale d'art contemporain Alios! 2017
2016
Biennale Poznan 2016Setouchi Triennale 2016
2015
10èmes Rencontres de Bamako 20155th Thessaloniki Biennale 2015
16th Media art Biennale Wro 20151st Trio Biennale, Rio de Janeiro 2015
2nd Bodrum Biennial 2015
2014
Fotofest Biennial 2014
2013
5th Auckland Triennial 2013White House Biennial 2013
2012
10th Dakar Biennial 2012Manif d'Art 6 2012
2011
3rd Thessaloniki Biennial 201111th Lyon Biennial 2011
54th Venice Biennial 2011
2010
XIIth Cairo Biennial 20101st Mediterranean Biennial of Haifa 2010
Port Izmir 2, international triennial of contemporary art 20109th Dakar Biennial 2010
Biennale Cuvée 2010
2009
Xth Lyon Biennial 2009Art Tel Aviv 2009
9èmes Rencontres de Bamako 2009
2008
1st Brussels Biennial 2008Pontevedra Biennial 2008
2007
24th Biennial Memorial of Nadezda Petrovic 20071st Luanda Triennial 2007
52th Venice Biennial 20078th Sharjah Biennial 2007
2004
Gwangju biennial 2004
2006
2nd Seville Biennial 20067th Dakar Biennial 2006
2000
4th Dakar Biennial 2000
1999
7th Biennal Art Media 1999
 
Group shows (selection)
 
2023
Pola Museum 2023museum in progress 2023
2022
UB Art Galleries 2022Fondation Boghossian 2022
Cobra Museum 2022
2021
Brooklyn Museum 2021Fondation Boghossian 2021
Museo Reina Sofía 2021Iselp 2021
Es Baluard 2021
2020
Fondation Boghossian 2020La Galerie 38 2020
Sala de la Provincia de la Diputacion 2020MOCAK 2020
Ceysson & Bénétière 2020Goodman Gallery 2020
Palais de Tokyo 2020American University in Cairo 2020
Musée des Confluences 2020
2019
Fondation Boghossian 2019MAMA 2019
Ceysson & Bénétière 2019Maison Populaire 2019
Bedford Gallery 2019 Evliyagil Museum 2019
Jane Lombard 2019James Cohan 2019
2018
Mathaf 2018MACAAL 2018
Fondation Boghossian 2018Sammlung Philara 2018
Nasher Museum of Art 2018Ellen Noël Art Museum 2018
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea 2018MOCAK 2018
Bozar Center for fine arts 2018Philharmonie de Paris 2018
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery 2018Goodman Gallery 2018
Institut Français de Saint Louis 2018Pensacola Museum of Art 2018
Von der Heydt-Kunsthalle 2018
2017
Gifu Museum 2017Huntsville Museum of Art 2017
Bandjoun Station 2017Institut des Cultures d’Islam 2017
Bellevue Arts Museum 2017Mudac 2017
Primo Marella Gallery 2017Goodman Gallery 2017
MACAAL 2017Museum De Wieger 2017
Conrads Gallery 2017Galerie Ceysson & Bénétière 2017
Keitelman Gallery 2017Musée du Pays de Hanau 2017
Château de Servières 2017CEAA 2017
Fondazione Fotografia Modena 2017H&R Block Artspace 2017
2016
Bedford Gallery 2016Beijing Today Art Museum 2016
Hôtel des Arts 2016Museum of Old and New Art 2016
Labanque 2016Les Photaumnales 2016
Al Maaden 2016Kunsthalle Faust 2016
Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg 2016Archives Nationales 2016
Bardo National Museum 2016Arles 2016
Musée d'Art Moderne de Troyes 2016Rotor 2016
Goodman Gallery 2016Musée Bartholdi 2016
Institut d’Art Contemporain 2016Santander Art Gallery 2016
Brandts & Viborg Kunsthal 2016
2015
Fondazione VIDEOINSIGHT 2015A Tale of a Tub 2015
Contemporary Istanbul 2015ADMAF 2015
Goodman Gallery 2015Keitelman Gallery 2015
Galeria Municipal do Porto 2015Fabra i Coats 2015
AMOCA 2015Monastère Royal de Brou 2015
CAC La Traverse 2015FRAC Franche-Comté 2015
ZKM 2015The National Library 2015
Station 2015La FabriC - Fondation Salomon 2015
Van Abbemuseum 2015The Brooklyn Museum 2015
MMP+ 2015Sharjah Museum 2015
Kamel Lazaar Foundation 2015Sextant & + 2015
2014
Gwangju Museum of Art 2014QAGOMA 2014
N.B.K. 2014CAyT Centro de Arte y Technologia 2014
Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery 2014Station 2014
Institut du Monde Arabe 2014Art Gallery of Western Australia 2014
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art 2014Palais de Tokyo 2014
2013
L'art dans les chapelles 2013MAD Museum 2013
Marseille - Provence 2013V&A Museum 2013
30 ans des FRAC 2013MAC Marseille 2013
MAXXI 2013
2012
Museu de Arte Moderna de Salvador de Bahia 2012Institut du Monde Arabe 2012
Edge of Arabia 2012Apexart 2012
B.P.S. 22 2012Dorsky Gallery 2012
International Center of Graphic Arts 2012
2011
Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art 2011Fondation Blachère 2011
Brooklyn Museum 2011Dublin Contemporary 2011
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts 2011Museum on the Seam 2011
Tri Postal Lille 2011Meeting Point 6 2011
2010
The New School 2010Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil 2010
Fondazione Fotografia Modena 2010Aargauer Kunsthaus 2010
KAdE 2010Kunst Museum Bochum 2010
Moscow museum of modern art 2010Art Gallery of Ontario 2010
2009
Fondation Gulbenkian 2009Centro de Arte de Santa Monica 2009
Beirut Art Center 2009Salina Art Center 2009
2008
Kunstverein Medienturm Ilz 2008Te Papa museum 2008
Studio Museum Harlem 2008Haus der Kunst 2008
Centre Pompidou 2008CAAM 2008
Centro de Arte de Santa Monica 2008
2007
Johannesburg Art Gallery 2007
2006
CAC Le Parvis 2006CAPC musée d'art contemporain 2006
Bank Galerie 2006Les Abattoirs 2006
Moderna museet 2006Mori art museum 2006
2005
Wereldmuseum 2005Centre Pompidou 2005
The Stenersen Museum 2005Saw gallery 2005
Konstmuseum 2005Hayward Gallery 2005
2004
Museum Kunst Palast 2004Tri Postal Lille 2004
2003
2nd international contemporary art meeting 2003
2002
Espacio C 2002
1999
O.N.A. Foundation 1999CAC Castres 1999
Musée des beaux-arts de Dôle 1999Musée des arts décoratifs 1999
 
 
Public Space Projects (selection)
 
2015
Metavilla Collateral Project to the 12th Havana Biennial
Prison Qara Meknès Art Paris
2014
Analix Forever
2013
Sculpture Beach Art Dubai
2012
Le Printemps de Septembre Narracje 4
2010
Ivry FIAC Tuileries
2004
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt