Wael Shawky
29 Nov 2013 - 09 Feb 2014
Wael Shawky
Inkjet print on Crane Museo Max
paper, 62 x 42 cm (paper size)
© 2013 Wael Shawky
Courtesy Galerie Sfeir-Semler
Inkjet print on Crane Museo Max
paper, 62 x 42 cm (paper size)
© 2013 Wael Shawky
Courtesy Galerie Sfeir-Semler
WAEL SHAWKY
29 November 2013 - 9 February 2014
The first major London exhibition of the Egyptian artist Wael Shawky navigates the territory between truth and myth.
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting artists to emerge from the Middle East in recent years, Wael Shawky will feature the worldwide premiere of the artist’s latest film Al Araba Al Madfuna II (2013). His films, installations and performances explore history, culture and the effect of globalisation on contemporary societies through fact and fiction.
In addition to Shawky’s new film, the Serpentine exhibition will include the two films that comprise his Cabaret Crusades series: The Horror Show File (2010) and The Path to Cairo (2012). In these films Shawky uses marionettes to enact key events that occurred during the Crusades. Exploring the notion that there is no single historical truth, Shawky re-tells the crusades from the Middle Eastern perspective, using classical Arabic, the language spoken in news bulletins and in the Quran, to frame his narrative with a voice of authority.
Shawky’s new film Al Araba Al Madfuna II (2013), which will premiere at the Serpentine exhibition, re-tells Egyptian novelist Mohamed Mustagab’s parables, Horsemen Adore Perfume and The Offering. By using children to enact the stories with adult voices and dress, Shawky leaves an open-ended interpretation to the work.
Alongside the three films, Wael Shawky will showcase a selection of flags and drawings, many of them new works, and will present a display of ceramic marionettes made by the artist, that feature in his film The Path to Cairo.
Jake and Dinos Chapman: Come and See runs concurrently at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. Shawky’s and the Chapmans’s work is linked by their employment of models and marionettes to re-cast myths, stories and historical events.
In 2011, Shawky undertook a residency with the Serpentine’s Edgware Road Project, which was organised in collaboration with the Townhouse Gallery, Cairo and the Delfina Foundation, London. The Serpentine’s Edgware Road Project focuses on Asian and Middle Eastern culture, with Wael Shawky: al-Qurban a continuation of this dialogue.
In addition to his work as an artist, Wael Shawky runs MASS Alexandria, the first independent studio study programme for young artists in Alexandria, Egypt. Shawky has held solo shows internationally, including at Kunst-Werke Institute, Germany (2012), Nottingham Contemporary, UK (2011) and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2011); and has presented work at dOCUMENTA 13 (2012).
Wael Shawky
This combination of critical research and commitment to creating spaces for broader social and political dialogue in the arts were among the many reasons Shawky was invited to visit the Serpentine Gallery's Centre for Possible Studies in 2011. As part of his residency with the Centre, he created a study that questions the relationship between the Serpentine Gallery and the Edgware Road neighbourhood.
Shawky's estrangement of narratives through the use of puppets, child actors and television-show formats emphasise the power that historical and mythical narratives hold over the way we think about ourselves and the world.
Wael Shawky's residency was undertaken in collaboration with The Delfina Foundation and Townhouse, Cairo.
29 November 2013 - 9 February 2014
The first major London exhibition of the Egyptian artist Wael Shawky navigates the territory between truth and myth.
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting artists to emerge from the Middle East in recent years, Wael Shawky will feature the worldwide premiere of the artist’s latest film Al Araba Al Madfuna II (2013). His films, installations and performances explore history, culture and the effect of globalisation on contemporary societies through fact and fiction.
In addition to Shawky’s new film, the Serpentine exhibition will include the two films that comprise his Cabaret Crusades series: The Horror Show File (2010) and The Path to Cairo (2012). In these films Shawky uses marionettes to enact key events that occurred during the Crusades. Exploring the notion that there is no single historical truth, Shawky re-tells the crusades from the Middle Eastern perspective, using classical Arabic, the language spoken in news bulletins and in the Quran, to frame his narrative with a voice of authority.
Shawky’s new film Al Araba Al Madfuna II (2013), which will premiere at the Serpentine exhibition, re-tells Egyptian novelist Mohamed Mustagab’s parables, Horsemen Adore Perfume and The Offering. By using children to enact the stories with adult voices and dress, Shawky leaves an open-ended interpretation to the work.
Alongside the three films, Wael Shawky will showcase a selection of flags and drawings, many of them new works, and will present a display of ceramic marionettes made by the artist, that feature in his film The Path to Cairo.
Jake and Dinos Chapman: Come and See runs concurrently at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. Shawky’s and the Chapmans’s work is linked by their employment of models and marionettes to re-cast myths, stories and historical events.
In 2011, Shawky undertook a residency with the Serpentine’s Edgware Road Project, which was organised in collaboration with the Townhouse Gallery, Cairo and the Delfina Foundation, London. The Serpentine’s Edgware Road Project focuses on Asian and Middle Eastern culture, with Wael Shawky: al-Qurban a continuation of this dialogue.
In addition to his work as an artist, Wael Shawky runs MASS Alexandria, the first independent studio study programme for young artists in Alexandria, Egypt. Shawky has held solo shows internationally, including at Kunst-Werke Institute, Germany (2012), Nottingham Contemporary, UK (2011) and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2011); and has presented work at dOCUMENTA 13 (2012).
Wael Shawky
This combination of critical research and commitment to creating spaces for broader social and political dialogue in the arts were among the many reasons Shawky was invited to visit the Serpentine Gallery's Centre for Possible Studies in 2011. As part of his residency with the Centre, he created a study that questions the relationship between the Serpentine Gallery and the Edgware Road neighbourhood.
Shawky's estrangement of narratives through the use of puppets, child actors and television-show formats emphasise the power that historical and mythical narratives hold over the way we think about ourselves and the world.
Wael Shawky's residency was undertaken in collaboration with The Delfina Foundation and Townhouse, Cairo.