That place of familiarity that holds and hurts.
Part two: Hanan Benemmar, The Universal Periodic Review.
November 2022
Curation
Part one: Jamila Prowse and Mekdes W Shebeta, 2021.
Read publication here.
That place of familiarity that holds and hurts is an exhibition in two parts, showing the work of three artist who are searchers, invited by another artist who is also a searcher.
The exhibition turns to three artists that ask the deeply human questions that frighten us, those that sit there, proudly and without a tidy answer. And for many of us, belonging is the most frightening unanswered question. Belonging, our roots, our home, all question who we are and where we are going. Home is that place from which we can safely reach out, that place we can settle and learn to know ourselves. My godfather said to me once: Home is where your toothbrush is. When I get lost that thought gives some comfort but whether we ar
e voyagers or stay-at-homes, belonging is an answer we all search for. Jamila Prowse, Mekdes W Shebeta and Hanan Benammar search for that answer too, maybe because, like me, they have been asked “where do you come from?” when they thought they were at home already.
Part two: Hanan Benemmar, The Universal Periodic Review.
November 2022
Curation
Part one: Jamila Prowse and Mekdes W Shebeta, 2021.
Read publication here.
That place of familiarity that holds and hurts is an exhibition in two parts, showing the work of three artist who are searchers, invited by another artist who is also a searcher.
The exhibition turns to three artists that ask the deeply human questions that frighten us, those that sit there, proudly and without a tidy answer. And for many of us, belonging is the most frightening unanswered question. Belonging, our roots, our home, all question who we are and where we are going. Home is that place from which we can safely reach out, that place we can settle and learn to know ourselves. My godfather said to me once: Home is where your toothbrush is. When I get lost that thought gives some comfort but whether we ar
e voyagers or stay-at-homes, belonging is an answer we all search for. Jamila Prowse, Mekdes W Shebeta and Hanan Benammar search for that answer too, maybe because, like me, they have been asked “where do you come from?” when they thought they were at home already.
Based on the performance The Universal Periodic Review, that took place as part of BEK’s symposium The Only Lasting Truth is Change, Hanan Benammar has opened an exhibition with the same title at Hordaland kunstsenter (HKS).
The Universal Periodic Review by Hanan Benammar aims to challenge fundamental concepts such as nationalism, resistance and cultural hegemony in the context of Western Sahara’s struggle for self-determination. The exhibition, shown in Hordaland Kunstsenter’s Project Room, consists of recordings and material from Benammar’s performance at The Only Lasting Truth is Change, a symposium held by Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (BEK).
Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, after being colonized by Spain between 1884 and 1975. After four decades of peaceful resistance amidst Moroccan occupation, the exhibition asks whether the application of theory from Western intellectuals can open up a broader analysis of a conflict that is rarely discussed?
At the live performance during the symposium, on the 10th November, the audience was given participatory rights during a panel conversation, mimicking the process of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, a process through which all member states are provided the opportunity to review the human rights records of all other member states.
Based on the performance, Hanan Benammar has transformed the recorded and gathered material into a spatial, visual and audible exhibition, highlighting the overlapping interests and friction between art and realpolitik.
The guests participating in the performance were Asria Mohamed (activist and journalist), Dag Herbjørnsrud (historian of ideas, author and a founder of Center for Global and Comparative History of Ideas in Oslo), Erik Hagen (director of the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara), Asbjørn Grønstad (professor of Visual Culture at the University of Bergen) and Ylva Rian (musician).
The Universal Periodic Review is made in collaboration between BEK and HKS, and is curated by Amber Ablett as Part Two of That place of familiarity that holds and hurts. The first part of this exhibition series curated by Ablett was shown in autumn 2021, with work by Jamila Prowse and Mekdes W. Shebeta.
Images: Thor Brødreskift
The Universal Periodic Review by Hanan Benammar aims to challenge fundamental concepts such as nationalism, resistance and cultural hegemony in the context of Western Sahara’s struggle for self-determination. The exhibition, shown in Hordaland Kunstsenter’s Project Room, consists of recordings and material from Benammar’s performance at The Only Lasting Truth is Change, a symposium held by Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (BEK).
Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, after being colonized by Spain between 1884 and 1975. After four decades of peaceful resistance amidst Moroccan occupation, the exhibition asks whether the application of theory from Western intellectuals can open up a broader analysis of a conflict that is rarely discussed?
At the live performance during the symposium, on the 10th November, the audience was given participatory rights during a panel conversation, mimicking the process of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, a process through which all member states are provided the opportunity to review the human rights records of all other member states.
Based on the performance, Hanan Benammar has transformed the recorded and gathered material into a spatial, visual and audible exhibition, highlighting the overlapping interests and friction between art and realpolitik.
The guests participating in the performance were Asria Mohamed (activist and journalist), Dag Herbjørnsrud (historian of ideas, author and a founder of Center for Global and Comparative History of Ideas in Oslo), Erik Hagen (director of the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara), Asbjørn Grønstad (professor of Visual Culture at the University of Bergen) and Ylva Rian (musician).
The Universal Periodic Review is made in collaboration between BEK and HKS, and is curated by Amber Ablett as Part Two of That place of familiarity that holds and hurts. The first part of this exhibition series curated by Ablett was shown in autumn 2021, with work by Jamila Prowse and Mekdes W. Shebeta.
Images: Thor Brødreskift
