This quarter’s ArteZine is focused on the question of collecting sound and performance art. Embracing sound art and broader sound archiving practices in the Middle East, UNCOLLECTABLE is packaged into literary and performance components that work together. They investigate the noticeable shift in the Middle East art world towards more performative and conceptual work (e.g. […]
It is not common to find articles written by artists from somewhere such as Bahrain about the woes of their profession. Such articles are a particular novelty when the artist’s chosen field is not prevalent in his or her country or region to begin with. Although this article alludes to my personal experiences as a […]
There are no drum-machines, only rhythm synthesizers programming new intensities from white noise, frequencies, waveforms, altering sampled drum sounds into unrecognizable pitches. The drum-machine has never sounded like drums because it isn’t percussion: it’s electronic current, synthetic percussion, syncussion. – Kodwo Eshun, More Brilliant than the Sun Listen to Morphosis, Musafir A sputtering saxophone and […]
It always seemed to be secondhand, overheard, or when I got in trouble that a story about my grandfather’s past would surface. At a family meal I expressed some distaste at the food my mother had prepared. In response, she told me about a crew member who had approached my grandfather complaining that cockroaches had […]
Hicham Berrada Born in 1986 in Casablanca in Morocco, Hicham Berrada lives and works in Paris, France. He is a graduate of the National Fine Arts Academy of Paris (ENSBA) in 2011 and continues his researches in activations of various scientific processes in the national Studio of the contemporary arts, Le Fresnoy. He participates in several collective exhibitions […]
3 Last night I met a friend from years ago. We were, once more, all over again, not knowing what our bodies remembered, almost new to each other. As though nothing bad had happened. And then again tonight, from across the table, our drinks between us, I noticed – “What’s that ring on your finger?” […]
The figure of “censorship” conjures up a smoke screen of antagonism that can only be dispelled by looking through it. Cause célèbre of censorship at Sharjah Biennial 2011, among many less publicized instances, gave a strong pretext for a critical investigation; it also called for a consideration in terms other than condemnation of censorship from […]
The cry of “Allah-o-Akbar” was the defining sound of the 1978 protests against the Shah of Iran, during a revolution that toppled the Pahlavi monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Shah’s prime minister Major General Gholam Reza Azhari attributed, in 1978, the cry of “Allah-o-Akbar” from every street corner and rooftop, to […]
February 7, 2012 10:18:38 AM EST SANDRA SKURVIDA: I propose a conversational shift from a stereotypical/allegorical/exilical romanticism to a political domesticism — I have in mind the younger generation of artists in Iran who exhibit in their works and their life choices an unconditional will to remain in their country, as you have declared in […]
By erasing 27 seconds from Anahita Razmi’s video camera, the Iranian National Guard collaborated on a beautiful soundscape set against the wall of the National Guard headquarters. Anahita Razmi, White Wall Tehran, 2007, 0:49