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The Whitechapel Gallery presents the first major UK exhibition of US-Lebanese artist, Walid Raad .
One of the most important artists from the Middle East, Walid Raad says his work 'was in some ways made possible by the civil wars in Lebanon'. He playfully considers the effects of conflict not only on body and mind, but also on art itself. The Whitechapel Gallery presents his most important works from the past 20 years for the first time in Walid Raad : Miraculous Beginnings.
Now living in the US, Raad's work The Atlas Group (1989-2004) is rooted in his experiences as a teenager in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil Wars (1975-90). His artworks, presented as documents and attributed to fictional as well as historical figures, narrate and visualise stories about the Lebanese wars of the past three decades. His images piece together a complex story of modern Lebanona history which still cannot be taught at schoolwith Raad's exploration of photographic medium, its materials and conventions.
Raad has said growing up in Beirut he wanted to be a war correspondent'I didn't have to go very far. It was right outside the house.' Being in a city at war directly affected his workrather than seeing photographs as impartial documents, Raad says 'in a city that is divided, a photograph can generate all sorts of facts: some military; others cultural; and yet others aesthetic.'
The exhibition begins with photography and videotapes by The Atlas Group (1989 present), Raad's project on the Lebanese wars. He queries conventional distinctions between fact and fiction and asks how history, in particular one characterised as traumatic, can be told and visually represented. Key works include the photographic series Secrets in the open sea (1994); Civilizationally, we do not dig holes to bury ourselves (1993/2003); My neck Is thinner than a hair: Engines (2001/2004); We decided to let them say, "we are convinced," twice (2002/2006); and Let's be honest, the weather helped (1998/2006), and selected video works.
(Pressetext)
KünstlerInnen: Walid Raad
