Doa Aly
06 Sep - 06 Oct 2007
DOA ALY
Kamel Mennour is pleased to present Doa Aly's first solo exhibition in Europe. Individual versus communal modes of expression, the role of body image and the body's ability in expressing independence, are explored in Doa Aly’s video works on show: 48 Ballet Classes (2005) and Puppet Fashion Show (2003). In her work, Aly examines the consequent shift between the self and projected image, and the emotions, aspirations and frustrations that lie therein. For 48 Ballet Classes (2005), the artist documented the ballet lessons she took over a period of less than three months from renowned ballet dancer Dame Sonia Sarkis. Using her untrained body, the artist explores the transitory stage between the ‘common’ and ‘manufactured’ body, placing the former out of context while distorting the latter’s image of unleashed potential. While trying to embrace an ideal of perfection and grace in 48 Ballet Classes, Aly parodies this very ideal in her earlier work Puppet Fashion Show (2003). In this work, she juxtaposes the disparate worlds of fashion and puppetry, and displays a persisting concern with the body’s ability to define and be defined by the environment.
Kamel Mennour is pleased to present Doa Aly's first solo exhibition in Europe. Individual versus communal modes of expression, the role of body image and the body's ability in expressing independence, are explored in Doa Aly’s video works on show: 48 Ballet Classes (2005) and Puppet Fashion Show (2003). In her work, Aly examines the consequent shift between the self and projected image, and the emotions, aspirations and frustrations that lie therein. For 48 Ballet Classes (2005), the artist documented the ballet lessons she took over a period of less than three months from renowned ballet dancer Dame Sonia Sarkis. Using her untrained body, the artist explores the transitory stage between the ‘common’ and ‘manufactured’ body, placing the former out of context while distorting the latter’s image of unleashed potential. While trying to embrace an ideal of perfection and grace in 48 Ballet Classes, Aly parodies this very ideal in her earlier work Puppet Fashion Show (2003). In this work, she juxtaposes the disparate worlds of fashion and puppetry, and displays a persisting concern with the body’s ability to define and be defined by the environment.