HAZEM HARB - The Persistence of Memory

24 Apr 2019 - 01 Jun 2019

HAZEM HARB - The Persistence of Memory

Montoro12 Gallery is proud to present The Persistence of Memory, the first solo exhibition in Brussels of celebrated Palestinian artist, Hazem Harb (Gaza, Palestine, 1980). On display will be a collection of Harb’s works spanning several series created between 2015 and 2019, starting with the artist’s introduction of collage to his practice in 2015.

Montoro12 Gallery is proud to present The Persistence of Memory, the first solo exhibition in Brussels of celebrated Palestinian artist, Hazem Harb (Gaza, Palestine, 1980).

On display will be a collection of Harb’s works spanning several series created between 2015 and 2019, starting with the artist’s introduction of collage to his practice in 2015. Using a research-driven approach to each element of his work, Harb takes his inspiration from multiple sources that span from the wisdom of Salvador Dali to the words of the prolific Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. The artist is an avid reader who investigates architecture as a mode of imperialism and delves deep into the archeology, folklore, and history of his native culture. His collages transcend aesthetic brilliance, each fragment representing a piece of a puzzle. A rectangle of cold grey plexi-glass overlaid upon a photograph of Jerusalem’s soft stone walls might, for example, represent the imposition of concrete Bauhaus structures upon the visual landscape. In this painstaking manner, Harb creates his collages by slicing and layering archival photographs, building upon them with his own drawings and found materials, including maps and coins.

The pieces selected for this exhibition trace Harb’s aesthetic evolution over the last four years, yet the topic of the artist’s exploration remains constant. He keenly uses his position as an artist to reaffirm history, making sense of the intricacies of personal and collective memory and the sense of longing that invariably stems from displacement.

Physical photographs might be forgotten, destroyed or disregarded, and antiquities may face erasure, in line with political changes, hegemony, and shifting borders; yet Harb’s collages pull them together, underscoring their importance and establishing their significance in the present. This artist’s practice questions our very modes of recording and understanding history, divulging the ways in which it can be manipulated. In doing so, he opens up a wider question, exploring how our memories are formed and how politics and power help shape these memories.

Some of the works on display investigate the conflicting incarnations of Jerusalem, a place that holds much significance and varied meanings across faiths, races, geographies and generations. In Bauhaus as Imperialism, series #2, 2019, there is beauty in difference, as looming forms like security barriers and glimpses of Brutalist architecture obscure views of the Dome of The Rock, which could reflect the disruptive landscape of today. Stern concrete and harsh geometrical lines shoot out from Jerusalem’s passive forms. The cutting edges and imposing appearance do, on first glance, feel like they have little to do with preconceived notions of the Holy City, but the layers of black and white photographs do: in fact they reveal the first post office built during the British Mandate and inaugurated in 1938. And in Harb’s Occupation Monuments series from 2016, jolting pieces are sliced from the composition begging the question, what is missing from the picture? What was there before, and is now gone?

“As an artist I made a conscious decision that my work must have meaning,” says Harb. “I have a responsibility to preserve the visual culture of my country as it reaches the point of exclusion. Beyond this I intend that my work should have universal relevance, the topic of home and its collective and individual significance is never more relevant than today in our time of globalization, new technologies and unpredictable political climate.”

Biography:

Born in 1980 in Gaza, Palestine, Hazem Harb currently lives in Dubai. He completed an MFA at The European Institute of Design, Rome, Italy (2009).
The artist is primarily concerned with the history of his country and its current situation. Harb’s use of collage allows him to unveil a previously hidden discourse: by cutting, inserting and juxtaposing old photographs and archival objects in his works, he creates conceptual compositions that relay a buried story. The use of genuine historical sources conflates the past with the present - a solution Harb proposes to reaffirm and reestablish the cultural and physical existence of his people.
Among his accolades, Harb was awarded a residency at The Delfina Foundation, London; Cité des Arts, Paris; and Satellite, Dubai. In 2008, he was shortlisted for the A.M. Qattan Young Artist of The Year Award. His work has been collected by numerous institutions worldwide including The British Museum, Sharjah Art Foundation, Centre Pompidou, The Oriental Museum (Durham University), Salsali Private Museum, LACMA, Faurschou Foundation Copenhagen, Al Qattan Foundation, and Contemporary Art Platform: CAPKuwait.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Power Does Not Defeat Memory, Sabsay Gallery, Copenhagen (2019); The Everlasting Presence of an Excluded Memory, Art Berlin (2018); The Invisible Landscape and Concrete Futures (curated by Lara Khaldi), Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, (2015); Al Baseera, Athr Gallery, Jeddah (2014); I Can Imagine You Without Your Home, Dubai, UAE (2012); Is This Your First Time in Gaza? The Mosaic Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation, London, UK (2010).
 
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Intimate Terrains, The Palestinian Museum, Ramallah, (2019); Active Forms, Sharjah Art Foundation, (2018); El Beit, Tabari Artspace, Dubai (2018; The Absence of Paths, Tunisian Pavilion, 57th Biennale di Venezia (2017); The Armory Show, New York (2016); Chers Amis – MNAM, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016); A View From Inside, FotoFest Houston Biennial Houston USA (2014); Sphères13 and 14, Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, France (2013 and 2014); Common Grounds, Villa Stuck Museum, Munich (2015); The Written City, Brugge City Hall, Belgium (2015); Passaggio di tempo, Luigi Pigorini Museum, Rome, Italy (2007).
Powered By

K-Dolls in House

08 Jun 2016 - 26 Jun 2026

TréZOOr : Histoire et Patrimoine du Muséum et de l’Institut Zoologique

16 Jun 2017 - 30 Jun 2050

K-Dolls in House

08 Jun 2016 - 26 Jun 2026

TréZOOr : Histoire et Patrimoine du Muséum et de l’Institut Zoologique

16 Jun 2017 - 30 Jun 2050

Galerie Montoro12

Galerie Montoro12

67 de la Regence 1000

Read More

On the (re)appropriation of queer aesthetics in music and nightlife w/ VICE & The Belgian Pride

30 May 2024 - 30 May 2024

Stage Prise de parole en public

27 Feb 2025 - 27 Feb 2025

test

24 Jul 2028 - 24 Jul 2028

Ars Musica

22 Nov 2029 - 22 Nov 2029

Atelier de défense verbale

30 Mar 2030 - 30 Mar 2030

Midi d’Arts² avec Axel Everaert

26 Mar 2109 - 26 Mar 2109

Rendez-vous soins et sons avec Olivier de Voghel

26 Mar 2109 - 26 Mar 2109

Sylvia

26 Mar 2109 - 26 Mar 2109

Newsletter

Each week, new content in your mailbox

Newsletter

Découvrez plus de 12 000 adresses et événements

Profitez de toutes les sections de BrusselsLife.be et découvrez plus de 12 000 adresses et un grand choix d'événements, d'informations et de conseils et astuces de notre écriture.

Brusselslife.be
Avenue Louise, 500 -1050 Ixelles, Brussels,
02/538.51.49.
TVA 0472.281.221

Copyright 2024 © Brusselslife.be Tous droits réservés. Le contenu et les images utilisés sur ce site sont protégés par le droit d'auteur. la propriétaires respectifs.

www.brusselsLife.be/[email protected]