Our Concept

Our Concept

At the turn of the 20th century, the Hejaz, a narrow-gauge railway built south from Damascus to transport pilgrims to Mecca during the Hajj, represented a tangible, if utopic, dream of a united region during Ottoman rule. Part divine aspiration, part vehicle for political gain, the train was designed to extend existing railways from Istanbul through present-day Turkey to Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia and, finally, to the holiest cities of Islam. A decade later, the British, eager to replace the Ottoman Empire with its own, initiated what would become decades of European battles in the region. The dream was finally obliterated: Lawrence of Arabia and a Bedouin army repeatedly blew the railway apart during WWI. It never recovered but the tracks still remain.

We Have Woven the Motherlands with Nets of Iron investigates what is left of the withered dream to transcend physical and metaphysical borders after the rise and fall of empires. Having endured wars and conquests, the trains persist, limping along, rented out to nostalgic tourists and enthusiasts. Trains, like Arab unity itself, have a romantic geography: nearly obsolete, valued for historical symbolism, begging to be updated or made once again relevant. In contrast, various countries in the region are initiating modern railway systems that can reconnect citizens to the landscape.

In examining dichotomies between history and current nationalisms, the exhibition We Have Woven the Motherlands with Nets of Iron will make use of contributions from artists and historians from each of the five countries of the Hejaz (from Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Syria) to produce performances on movable platforms, archival projects using remnants of the rail lines and other installations, all of which will take place on the rails in Jordan.

The exhibition is part of Apexart’s Franchise project for 2011, and will run from the 4th of May until the 4thth of June 2011. The exhibition is curated by Eric Gottesman and Toleen Touq.

Photo of the train wreck in the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia by Jerry Miller, 70images.com

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Artist Meeting: Ramia Suleiman and Wissam ??, Damascus

Two sculptors working together but independently (and sometimes collaboratively). They are exploring materials like foam and clay but are interested in exploring other materials as well. Ramia, a Syrian artist born in Tartus, who speaks Turkish, received a commission from the Turkish embassy in Amman to produce a sculpture that commemorates Turkish martyrs to be installed in Salt, Jordan. I like how complicated all that is, and there is an image from their production and installation of that piece that I really love and can't get out of my mind. It has the sculpture in clay before it was cast, with guns of the soldiers pointing outwards like the rays of the sun and black and white images of Ataturk posted up on the wall behind it. The images of the production (which could make a video) are a series of memories all on one plane.
Ramia and Toleen
Posted by

No comments:

Post a Comment