Mathaf Opens Exhibition by Egyptian Artist Wael Shawky

Doha, March 15 (QNA) - Under the patronage of HE Qatar Museums Chairperson Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art at Qatar Foundation presWael Shawky: Crusades and Other Stories, a major solo exhibition by internationally acclaimed Egyptian artist Wael Shawky. The exhibition, which will run until 16 August 2015, is curated by Abdellah Karroum, Director of Mathaf. Occupying the atrium and ground floor galleries at Mathaf, Shawky presents large-scale installations of two film trilogies Cabaret Crusades (2010- 2015) and Al Araba Al Madfuna (2012 2015). The three films that make up Cabaret Crusades were produced over a period of four years, the most recent being commissioned by Qatar Museums in 2014 as part of its focus on art, creativity and heritage. The script and structure of the film series Cabaret Crusades draw on sources of writing from the period as presented in Amin Maaloufs The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (1983), referencing the historical fight for power that is still present today. The exhibition will also premiere a new film commissioned by Mathaf for the exhibition, completing the three-part series, Al Araba Al Madfuna (2012-2015), a re-telling of the stories of Egyptian novelist Mohamed Mustagab. Also included is a selection of marionettes (puppets) from the Cabaret Crusades and drawings from both video trilogies. The architecture and scenography produced for Mathaf creates an original atmosphere that combine the artists’ references of history, literature and cinema, through which other stories are imagined. Abdellah Karroum, Director of Mathaf and curator of the exhibition, said: "Wael Shawky touches on subjects of history and political and social change, while re-thinking models of artistic practice to invent new visual languages. His films, installations, and performances explore histories of culture and literature in the contemporary moment by recreating written and oral testaments of societal, economic, and political change." A fully illustrated bilingual Arabic-English exhibition catalogue will be published by Mathaf. The publication will contain an interview with Wael Shawky conducted by Abdellah Karroum and essays, providing insight into the artistic process of Wael Shawky. (QNA)