Noel Jabbour
dal 25/11/2004 al 15/1/2005
Segnalato da
25/11/2004
Noel Jabbour
f a projects, London
In this series of photographs, the artist takes as her source the legend of Saint Mary Magdalene. Over the last two years, the artist has photographed herself in key places that feature within the legend of the saint. Jabbour takes a traditional legend and gives it a contemporary resonance.
The Maria Magdalena Series
In this series of photographs, Jabbour takes as her source the legend of Saint Mary Magdalene. Over the last two years, the artist has photographed herself in key places that feature within the legend of the saint; the lake at Galilee where Mary anointed Christ’s feet, the River Jordan and Saint-Baume, near Marseille, where she lived in isolation after fleeing with the Christian community after the Crucifixion. Depicting herself as the saint at seven key stages of Mary Magdalene’s life, she uses the self-portraits as an exploration of her Christian heritage and as a comment on wider issues.
Jabbour takes a traditional legend and gives it a contemporary resonance. Biblical references to the washing of Christ’s feet refer to Mary as ‘the sinner’ and throughout the New Testament there is constant ambiguity concerning her relationship with Christ. The details of the legend are constantly in dispute, fluctuating between the extremes of saint and sinner. These extremes of positions suggest parallels with the status of an independent woman within Middle Eastern society, where her independence is perceived as a threat. The photographs also comment on sexuality and the notion of the forbidden, questioning boundaries and notions of expectations.
’Posing as Mary Magdalene an elusive and complex figure, who is both a sinner and a repentant the artist positions herself within a lush forest, her long tresses covering her body. Evoking both sensuality and innocence, the artist as an Eve-like Magdalene seems to be lost in a primeval garden, on the verge of discovery and self-discovery…’ (Gannit Ankori)
Noel Jabbour lives and works in Berlin and Nazareth.
Recent exhibitions include: ‘Nazar / Images from the Arab World’, Noorderlicht Photofestival, Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands; ‘Utopia’, Beit Hagefen, the Arab-Jewish Center, Haifa; ‘Corpus Christi’. Christus-Darstellungen in der Photografie, Deichtorhallen Hamburg; ‘Revelation: Representation of Christ in Photography’, Israel Museum, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Artist’s Studios, Tel Aviv, Israel. Jabbour’s work is in the collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and important private collections internationally.
Image:
Maria Magdalena # 5 ( Noli Me Tangere), 2003. C-type Print. 174.5 x 125.5 cm
f a projects
1-2 Bear Gardens, London