2019 | layered pigmented rubber | 1.2m x 2.2m
MAL DE DEBARQUEMENT combines two motifs:
A. HALF-GRAPES. In 2006 I worked on a video collaboration with Sarah Rooney called ‘ Breaking of Voice’. The videos depicted, among other scenes, a half grape on a mirror travelling through Montreal alleys. The grape and the subtitled narrative derived from a fourteenth century tale by Ibn Battuta, titled ‘A Story of a Man Killed by a Grape.’ The allegedly true story tells of an Iraqi Prince, who was split in half by his father-in-law the King for eating a grape in the King’s vineyard without the King's permission. The King orders that the halves of the Prince be displayed on either side of the road by the vineyard, along with two halves of a split grape: A Lesson!
A. HALF-GRAPES. In 2006 I worked on a video collaboration with Sarah Rooney called ‘ Breaking of Voice’. The videos depicted, among other scenes, a half grape on a mirror travelling through Montreal alleys. The grape and the subtitled narrative derived from a fourteenth century tale by Ibn Battuta, titled ‘A Story of a Man Killed by a Grape.’ The allegedly true story tells of an Iraqi Prince, who was split in half by his father-in-law the King for eating a grape in the King’s vineyard without the King's permission. The King orders that the halves of the Prince be displayed on either side of the road by the vineyard, along with two halves of a split grape: A Lesson!
B. MILITARY PATTERN: The grapes are set in a background composed of a military camouflage tarp.
In this work, I was interested more than ever in blending the figure and background. This is substrate-less painting acts as a rug, a screen, and delineates a space. A juxtaposition of symbols of violence and displacement, vertically hung rugs and screens that form the walls of nomadic tents.
In this work, I was interested more than ever in blending the figure and background. This is substrate-less painting acts as a rug, a screen, and delineates a space. A juxtaposition of symbols of violence and displacement, vertically hung rugs and screens that form the walls of nomadic tents.
Exhibited at Don't Ask Me Where I'm From | 2019 - 2020
Gallerie delle Prigioni | Treviso | Italy
Aga Khan Museum | Toronto | Canada
