Ak

ram

Za

ata

ri:

Th

e S

cri

pt

Ano

ther

Res

olut

ion

(199

8–20

13) i

s a

vide

o w

ork

that

, in

the

artis

t’s w

ords

, se

rves

to

‘evo

ke d

iffer

ence

s in

soc

ial r

ole-

play

ing

betw

een

child

ren

and

grow

n-up

s. […

] Wha

t w

e ar

e ta

lkin

g ab

out

is h

ow c

hild

ren

beco

me

terr

itory

to

insc

ribe

soci

al id

entit

ies.’

The

se fi

lmed

por

trai

ts o

f ad

ults

(oft

en t

he a

rtis

t’s f

riend

s)

re-e

nact

the

stat

ic p

oses

of c

hild

ren

in p

hoto

grap

hs fr

om a

n ea

rlier

era

. It i

s th

e fir

st w

ork

in w

hich

Zaa

tari

expl

ored

the

re-

enac

tmen

t of

a p

ose

in a

n ex

istin

g im

age

by w

ay o

f fol

low

ing

its n

arra

tive

or ‘s

crip

t’. F

or th

e vi

deos

, the

art

ist a

sked

hi

s no

n-pr

ofes

sion

al a

dult

mod

els

to h

old

thei

r po

se fo

r al

mos

t te

n m

inut

es,

prod

ucin

g w

hat

he c

alls

‘stil

lnes

s th

at is

ena

cted

in r

eal t

ime.

’

Cov

er im

ages

: Akr

am Z

aata

ri, T

he S

crip

t, 20

18. I

mag

e co

urte

sy t

he a

rtis

t.A

kram

Zaa

tari

, Dan

ce T

o Th

e E

nd o

f Lo

ve, 2

011.

Film

stil

l © A

kram

Zaa

tari.

Akram Zaatari, quoted in Mark Westmoreland, ‘Interview with Akram Zaatari about his photographic installation, Another Resolution,’ in Indicated by Signs, eds. Aleya Hamza and Edit Molnar, Bonn, 2010.

The

final

wor

k in

thi

s ex

hibi

tion

is T

he S

crip

t (2

018)

, a n

ew c

omm

issi

on t

hat

was

bo

rn o

ut o

f Za

atar

i’s r

esea

rch

into

onl

ine

cont

ent

conn

ecte

d w

ith t

he A

rab

wor

ld.

Usi

ng n

eutr

al s

earc

h te

rms

such

as

‘fath

er a

nd s

on’,

whi

ch p

rodu

ced

diffe

rent

re

sults

in A

rabi

c an

d E

nglis

h, Z

aata

ri ob

serv

ed a

new

tre

nd o

f You

Tube

vid

eos

by

pra

ctic

ing

Mus

lims

depi

ctin

g ev

eryd

ay, l

ovin

g ac

ts o

f fa

ith a

nd fa

mily

. Of

part

icul

ar n

ote

was

rec

urrin

g fo

otag

e of

fath

ers

fulfi

lling

the

ir du

ty o

f sa

lah

(the

fiv

e da

ily p

raye

r rit

ual)

whi

lst

thei

r ch

ildre

n at

tem

pt t

o di

stra

ct t

hem

. As

brea

king

of

f fr

om p

raye

r is

oft

en f

row

ned

upon

, the

fath

ers

inte

ntly

con

tinue

pra

ying

de

spite

the

ir ch

ildre

n’s

mis

chie

vous

inte

rrup

tions

. Wha

t st

rikes

the

vie

wer

is t

hat

such

ten

der

scen

es p

ortr

ayin

g ac

ts o

f M

uslim

faith

are

rar

ely

seen

in W

este

rn

med

ia r

epre

sent

atio

ns, p

osin

g th

e qu

estio

n as

to

whe

ther

the

se u

ploa

ds m

ight

be

val

iant

att

empt

s to

cou

nter

mis

conc

eptio

ns o

f th

e Is

lam

ic fa

ith.

Rat

her

than

cre

atin

g Th

e S

crip

t di

rect

ly f

rom

You

Tube

foot

age,

Zaa

tari

used

th

ese

uplo

ads

as s

ourc

e m

ater

ial,

dist

illin

g th

eir

chor

eogr

aphy

of

gest

ures

and

m

ovem

ents

into

a fi

lmed

re-

enac

tmen

t. T

his

re-e

nact

men

t is

firs

t pl

ayed

out

in

a pr

ivat

e do

mes

tic s

pace

and

the

n re

peat

ed o

n th

e st

age

of a

the

atre

. As

the

film

end

s, t

he c

amer

a tu

rns

180

degr

ees

as if

see

king

to

mee

t th

e ga

ze o

f

futu

re s

pect

ator

s w

ho a

re r

epre

sent

ed b

y ro

ws

of e

mpt

y th

eatr

e se

ats.

The

co

ntra

st o

f th

ese

intim

ate

and

publ

ic s

ettin

gs q

uest

ions

why

so

man

y of

us

in

mod

ern

soci

ety

choo

se t

o sh

are

our

intim

ate

mom

ents

with

ano

nym

ous

an

d ev

er-e

xpan

ding

onl

ine

com

mun

ities

.

The

Scr

ipt

by A

kram

Zaa

tari

is a

tou

ring

exhi

bitio

n by

New

Art

Exc

hang

e,

Not

tingh

am, i

n pa

rtne

rshi

p w

ith Tu

rner

Con

tem

pora

ry a

nd M

oder

n A

rt O

xfor

d.

Sup

port

ed b

y A

rts

Cou

ncil

Eng

land

and

Tho

mas

Dan

e G

alle

ry.

Ara

bic

tran

slat

ions

of e

xhib

ition

text

s ar

e av

aila

ble

– pl

ease

ask

a V

isito

r Ass

ista

nt.

Expl

ore

Mod

ern

Art

Oxf

ord

onlin

e:

Face

book

/You

Tube

: Mod

ern

Art

Oxf

ord,

Twitt

er/In

stag

ram

: @m

ao_g

alle

ry

"W

e d

o n

ot

be

lon

g t

o a

mo

de

of

tak

ing

pic

ture

s

any

mo

re;

we

are

all in

bro

ad

ca

sti

ng

. W

e b

roa

dca

st

ou

r live

s a

nd

ou

rse

lve

s o

n Y

ouTu

be

an

d F

ace

bo

ok

."

– A

kra

m Z

aa

tari

"P

ho

tog

rap

hy

op

era

tes lik

e a

mirro

r. Yo

u k

now

the

re

co

rdin

g d

ev

ice

will ju

st re

flect w

ha

t’s o

ut th

ere

, so

yo

u tric

k it b

y p

erfo

rmin

g – a

nd

in d

oin

g s

o, y

ou

r p

ose

be

co

me

s a

pe

rform

an

ce."

– A

kra

m Z

aa

tari

"It’s

alw

ays a

mu

sin

g to

ge

t lost o

n Y

ouTu

be

an

d

loo

k a

t wh

at p

eo

ple

are

ca

pa

ble

of p

rod

ucin

g. B

ut

it is a

lso

ab

ou

t lon

elin

ess, I th

ink

. It’s a

bo

ut lo

ne

ly

pe

op

le w

an

ting

to s

ed

uce

or im

pre

ss th

e w

orld

."

– A

kra

m Z

aa

tari

Akram Zaatari, quoted in Mediating Social Media: Akram Zaatari in Conversation with Anthony Downey, New Art Exchange, July 2018.

Lebanese artist Akram

Zaatari (b. 1966, Saida) is interested in how

certain attitudes and behaviours in front of the cam

era become trends, and how

individuals use these behaviours to associate them

selves with a social class,

modern values, or ideological positions. Zaatari considers these ‘perform

ed identities’ as a kind of theatre. In years gone by, these identities w

ere played out in the photographer’s studio before cam

eras were w

idely available; nowadays

this occurs through self-representation on social media channels such as

YouTube. An elem

ent of fantasy or wish fulfilm

ent is often present across these im

ages of the self, both filmic and photographic. The w

orks on display explore the role of im

age making in identity form

ation, and how the lines betw

een public and private space can becom

e blurred in the act of self-representation.

One of Zaatari’s projects explores the history of Studio Shehrazade, a photography

studio that operated in the artist’s hometow

n of Saida, Lebanon, from

1953 until 2017, and the photographs of its founder, H

ashem el M

adani. The first artworks

in the exhibition are a group of photographic transfers of images taken by

Madani at S

tudio Shehrazade betw

een the 1950s and 1970s, when few

households ow

ned cameras. They create an intriguing historical backdrop to

Zaatari’s video works by exploring the posed attitudes of people in Lebanon

during this earlier period. The ‘theatrical’ poses adopted and the props chosen (from

sunglasses to cardboard cut-outs of glamorous advertising m

odels) offer a revealing insight into their aspirations and m

aybe their inner lives, as well as the

societal norms of the tim

e. The images are a telling rem

inder that although m

ethods of self-representation may have m

oved on dramatically from

photographic studio portraits to selfies, the hum

an desire to manufacture one’s ow

n image

transcends borders, faiths and generations.

Dance to the E

nd of Love (2011) offers an imm

ersive experience of four vast video projections and soundtracks. This w

ork is composed entirely of YouTube

videos created and uploaded before 2011 by young men from

countries such as Libya, Yem

en, Palestine, Egypt, S

audi Arabia and the U

AE

. Equally revealing of a

unity of content and filming techniques across generations and borders, D

ance to the E

nd of Love captures the early use in the Arab w

orld of YouTube, launched in 2005. The videos, often fantastical, depict m

en behaving in seductive ways

that sometim

es deliberately exaggerate their masculinity for an online audience.

With the exception of a few

romantic scenes, the grainy cam

era-phone footage show

s young men w

ith imagined superpow

ers harnessing fireballs and lightning, participating in dangerous car stunts, perform

ing bodybuilding displays and enacting other playful scenes inspired by popular culture. The w

ork also includes m

oving demonstrations of m

ale friendships and hints at the precarious nature of the confidence and joy expressed onscreen. For the artist, this video installation is as m

uch about the collective imagination of young A

rab men as it is about the

solitude of individuals seeking to connect online.

Akram Zaatari, The Script, 2018. Image courtesy the artist.

Akram Zaatari, Footnote to Hashem el Madani: Studio Practices, 2018. Studio Shehrazade, Saida, Lebanon, 1950s–70s. Courtesy of the artist and the Arab Image Foundation © Akram Zaatari.

Designed by narratestudio.co.uk

The artist often approaches his exhibitions by extending and reworking projects and titles and recontextualising his previous artworks. He does this by using different materials and installation formats to transform archival objects and enable new encounters with them. In this process of reworking, images of the past and present are entwined, shifting in perspective across generations and ceaseless technological change. As Zaatari states: ‘I have been interested in looking at how people imagine themselves through their pictures.’

Upper Gallery1. Footnote to Hashem el Madani: Studio Practices, 2018.

Studio Shehrazade, Saida, Lebanon, 1950s–70s. Courtesy of the artist and the Arab Image Foundation. Photo-transfers with oil paint additions, wall fragments retrieved from installation at New Art Exchange, Nottingham.

‘All of a sudden I see my work with Madani as an ongoing performance. It’s an intervention in this photographer’s work and life: a re-animation of his economy and a displacement of his practice.’

– Akram Zaatari, quoted in Anthony Downey, ‘Photography as Apparatus,’ Ibraaz, 28 January 2014.

‘Working on the history of a production that spans over 70 years, like Studio Shehrazade, is actually walking through different stages of photographic practices, seeing how the industry of photography was changing, how different formats are introduced, how people use this platform that is a photographic studio, not only for taking pictures, but for transferring attitudes, fashions or learning about photography and image making.’

– Akram Zaatari, quoted in Mediating Social Media: Akram Zaatari in Conversation with Anthony Downey, New Art Exchange, July 2018.

To present Madani’s photographs as simply context to the video works rather than framed artworks in their own right, Zaatari transferred them directly on to the bare gallery walls at New Art Exchange, this exhibition’s first venue. Zaatari has described his work with Studio Shehrazade by explaining: ‘I take the whole archive of Hashem el Madani as a site for excavation.’ This metaphorical approach to the archive as archaeological site finds a material echo in the retrieval of the delicate image transfers, re-inserted in a wall at Modern Art Oxford in the manner of fossil fragments re-housed in new supporting structures. While these portraits were initially commissioned by the sitters or their families for personal or domestic purposes, this reworking and restaging of the images allows the artist to explore the way photographs acquire different meanings when they are removed from their original context and ‘displaced into another time, another tradition, another economy.’

2. Dance to the End of Love, 2011, video, four projections, colour and sound. Duration: 22 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery, kurimanzutto and Sfeir-Semler Gallery.

‘Dance to the End of Love is based on the ways Arab youth filmed themselves and shared these rushes through YouTube, right at the eve of what is today referred to as the Arab uprising. It is a study of YouTube space as a public space and is a continuation of my research of vernacular photographic practices.’

– Akram Zaatari, quoted in Respini and Janevski 2013.

‘With Dance to the End of Love I collect attitudes and I try to contextualise them with similar attitudes in other places to comment about the imaginary of a whole society. […] I constructed a thesaurus for the photographic archive of Hashem el Madani: all the different postures that were developed in a photographic studio to evoke romance, masculinity, family, and the movies. I started typing them on YouTube and seeing what kind of results I would get in moving images.’

– Akram Zaatari, quoted in Mediating Social Media: Akram Zaatari in Conversation with Anthony Downey, New Art Exchange, July 2018.

Middle Gallery 13. Another Resolution, 1998–2013, SD video, colour, silent. Duration:

7 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery, kurimanzutto and Sfeir-Semler Gallery. ‘I was looking for a different kind of image, ones that show a dictated posture. Another Resolution is not a survey of images of children; like most of my work, it is a pretext to comment on ideas that inhabit me, or that I am interested to observe. […] I am interested in these shifts in reading images as they travel time or cultures. They are capable of surprising us, challenging us to use a different code while looking at them, and certainly putting aside our social prejudices.’

– Akram Zaatari, in Westmoreland 2010.

Middle Gallery 2 4. Reflection (Nour), 1995, video projection, colour and sound.

Duration: 11 minutes. Courtesy of the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery, kurimanzutto and Sfeir-Semler Gallery.

The topical subject of youthful self-fashioning is also a focus of the artist’s 1995 film Reflection (Nour). The beguiling film, shot with non-professional child actors in Zaatari’s hometown, follows the children as they wander through Saida’s historic old town, playing with a small mirror that they use to frame the world around them.

Piper Gallery 5. The Script, 2018, video projection, colour and sound. Duration:

7 minutes, 32 seconds. Commissioned by New Art Exchange, in partnership with Turner Contemporary and Modern Art Oxford. Supported by Arts Council England and Thomas Dane Gallery.

'The marketing of digital cameras and phones, and the ease and immediacy with which images circulate, certainly represent a revolutionary phenomenon in the history of image production and diffusion, and that will definitely impact not only how images look, or how they are constructed, but also our logic, our human relationships, our recording habits, or simply our lives.’

– Akram Zaatari, in Respini and Janevski 2013.

Akr

am Z

aata

ri, q

uote

d in

Eva

Res

pini

and

Ana

Jan

evsk

i, ‘In

terv

iew

with

the

art

ist,’

MoM

A P

roje

cts

100:

Akr

am Z

aata

ri, A

pril

2013

. Z

aata

ri in

Res

pini

and

Jan

evsk

i, 20

13.

4

Upper Gallery

Middle Gallery 1

Middle Gallery 2

Piper Gallery3

21

5