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19/5/2010

Rabih Mroue'

BAK basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht

Between 21 May and 1 August, BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht proudly presents I, the Undersigned, the first solo exhibition by Lebanese theater director, playwright, actor, and visual artist Rabih Mroué.

Coming from a theater background, Mroué has explored different genealogies of the realm of performance, referring both to a tradition of critical theater in line with Brechtian methods and to performance art connected to developments in western contemporary art. His artistic practice escapes disciplinary frameworks by mixing methods and cultural cannons, by complicating the distinctions between fiction and reality, and by blending past "facts" with speculation about the current moment. Mroué belongs to the artistic generation that matured after the (formal) end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, and his work has been deeply influenced by the ongoing conflicts in the country, the Middle East region, and the urgency of the political and cultural issues that pervade this reality such as identity construction, historical narration, exclusion, and remembrance. In such a context, Mroué's work can be seen as a continuous inquiry into the artist's responsibility and position in both artistic frameworks enveloped by traditional conventions and in adverse political circumstances.

His practice engages with some critical questions such as: How to express truth through fiction? Can artistic subjectivity create a communal, meaningful, and ethically grounded exchange with a public in times when individuals are increasingly divided by their religious and political outlooks? How can one establish dialogue in a traumatized society, aware of this reality but not falling into the trap of disconsolate mourning, as the politics of memory is often seen today? Grappling with these dilemmas has led Mroué toward an unambiguous stance. "I'm working with these issues in order to forget," he says, "not to remember." His "forgetting," however, cannot be regarded as irresponsible dis-identification with one's own history. Rather it is an active process of coming to terms with, and a refusal of, the implacability of the consequences of conflict and a rejection of a permanent state of exception.

The exhibition I, the Undersigned expresses some of these concerns, while at the same time analyzing the place of knowledge generated by art within exceptional, history-making situations. The exhibited works (which include two new installations presented with some of the artist's key recent pieces) remind us that even if the concrete political and cultural circumstances of Lebanon happen to be the artist's point of departure, questions about the power of individual resilience and responsibility vis-à-vis collective society have much wider resonance in a world full of entanglements, as we witness today.

Rabih Mroué (born 1967) is an actor, director, playwright, visual artist, and a contributing editor of The Drama Review (TDR) as well as a co-founder and board member of the Beirut Art Center (BAC), Beirut. In 2010 Mroué was awarded an Artist Grant for Theatre/Performance Arts from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts, New York and the Spalding Gray Award. Recent exhibitions include: Performa 09, New York, 2009; 11th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2009; Tarjama/Translation, Queens Museum of Art, New York, 2009; Sjarjah Biennial, Sjarjah, 2009; Soft Manipulation – Who is afraid of the new now?, Casino Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 2008; and Medium Religion, Center for Art and Media (ZKM), Karlsruhe, 2008. Mroué lives and works in Beirut.

24.05.2010 Cultural Sunday
During the Cultural Sunday entitled DANCE, taking place on Monday 24 May 2010, BAK is open to the public from 12.00–17.00 hrs.

17.06.2010 Performance The Inhabitants of Images
On Thursday 17 June 2010 from 17.00–20.00 hrs BAK presents, in collaboration with the conference Waiting for the Political Moment, a lecture by philosopher Simon Critchley followed by a performance by Rabih Mroué. Admission to the lecture by Critchley and the performance by Mroué is free and no reservations are required. http://www.waitingforthepoliticalmoment.org

Related programs

22.–23.05.2010 Looking for a Missing Employee
As part of the program of Festival a/d Werf (20–29 May 2010) Rabih Mroué presents the performance Looking for a Missing Employee, 2003, on Saturday 22 May and Sunday 23 May at 21.00 hrs in the Grote Zaal of Theater Kikker, Ganzenmarkt 14, Utrecht. Language:English. For more information about the performance and online reservations, please visit http://www.festivalaandewerf.nl. Visitors to the performance receive a €4 discount upon presentation of the newsletter of BAK.

25.–29.05.2010 Absent but liable to come back
From 25–29 May 2010 a Frascati session with Rabih Mroué takes place at Theater Frascati, Amsterdam. A select group of artists work together with Mroué over the course of a week. The result of this encounter is presented to the public on Saturday 29 May at 20.30 hrs. Language: English. For more information and reservations for 29 May, please visit http://www.theaterfrascati.nl.

Image: Rabih Mroue', Je Veux Voir, 2010, video still

Opening 20 May 2010, 20.00 hrs

BAK, basis voor actuele kunst
Lange Nieuwstraat 4, Utrecht
BAK Opening hours
Wednesday−Saturday 12.00−17.00 hrs
Sunday 13.00−17.00 hrs
Entrance fee:
exhibition € 4 (reduction* € 2; BOOKS@BAK members free entrance)
lecture € 4 (reduction* € 2; BOOKS@BAK members free entrance)
*reduced entrance fee for students, children, visitors over 65, Witte de With Friends

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