‘Another Festival of (In)gratitude’ by Walid Raad at Sfeir Semler Gallery Beirut

Comrade Leader, comrade Leader, how nice to see you _ XIII2024 Single channel projection, black and white, silent, six paper figures 00:39:22, loop Edition of 1 + 1 AP Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
Comrade Leader, comrade Leader, how nice to see you _ XIII, 2024, Single channel projection, black and white, silent, six paper figures, 00:39:22, loop, Edition of 1 + 1 AP. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

While the opening of the show of Walid Raad was unfortunately cancelled due to the political situation, the exhibition is open and on view in both Beirut galleries. Titled ‘Another Festival of (In)gratitude’ Walid Raad’s exhibition reflects the artist’s engagement with critical times and what they reveal or obscure.

The dual exhibitions in Beirut present both new and recent works. At the Karantina Gallery, two large-scale immersive video installations take over entire rooms. These installations are complemented by four sculptural works and five series of prints, all bearing Raad’s signature approach to interpreting current events. For example, ‘Festival of (In)gratitude’ features 15 prints that initially appear as large, colourful abstractions but upon closer inspection, reveal familiar media images and fragmented newspaper captions, transforming journalistic language into a disjointed narrative. Similarly, a seemingly ordinary yet vibrant book on World War I uniforms becomes, under closer scrutiny, an index of Lebanese artists collaborating with warlords.

Festival of ingratitude1964-2008/2024 15 pigmented inkjet prints 152.4 x 203.2 cm each Edition 1 + 1 AP Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
Festival of ingratitude, 1964-2008/2024, 15 pigmented inkjet prints, 152.4 x 203.2 cm each, Edition 1 + 1 AP. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

 

Festival of Gratitude2003/2021 12 pigmented inkjet prints 42 x 59.5 cm each Edition 5 + 2 AP Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
Festival of Gratitude, 2003/2021, 12 pigmented inkjet prints, 42 x 59.5 cm each, Edition 5 + 2 AP. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

In the Downtown gallery, Raad introduces a new multimedia installation focusing on the 1983-84 bombardment of Lebanon by the USS New Jersey, the most decorated American battleship. The ship’s presence and actions in Lebanese waters were direct consequences of Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the PLO’s evacuation from Beirut, the election and assassination of Bashir Gemayel, the Sabra-Chatilla massacres, and the bombings of the US embassy and Marines headquarters in Beirut in 1983. In an installation attributed to his fictional collaborator Manal B. Tarabay, Raad presents dozens of photographic cutouts encircling a covered car, all linked to a character who seems unable to extricate these images not only from her mind but also from her body.

The loudest muttering is over2024 VW beetle, car cover, blue tarps, collage images Various dimensions Unique Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Downtown, Beirut, Lebanon Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
The loudest muttering is over, 2024, VW beetle, car cover, blue tarps, collage images, Various dimensions, Unique. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Downtown, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

For the past thirty years, Walid Raad has been crafting his own documents, often reflecting events that occurred in Lebanon over the past five decades. While these events did take place, his artworks are attempts to visualise and narrate what he perceives in an alternate reality.

Left: We lived so well together, 1991/2021, 8 pigmented inkjet prints, 72 x 60 cm each, edition 3 + 1 APRight: We have never been more populated, 1997/2020, 7 pigmented inkjet prints, 84 x 60.5 cm each, edition 5 + 2 AP Center: I long to meet the masses once again _ I, 2019, wood, 378 x 263 x 100 cm, unique Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
Left: We lived so well together, 1991/2021, 8 pigmented inkjet prints, 72 x 60 cm each, edition 3 + 1 AP
Right: We have never been more populated, 1997/2020, 7 pigmented inkjet prints, 84 x 60.5 cm each, edition 5 + 2 AP, Center: I long to meet the masses once again _ I, 2019, wood, 378 x 263 x 100 cm, unique. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

About Walid Raad

Walid Raad is a Lebanese artist and professor of Art at The Cooper Union in New York. His work includes ‘The Atlas Group’, a 15-year project on Lebanon’s contemporary history, and ongoing projects like ‘Scratching on Things I Could Disavow’ and ‘Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut)’. His solo exhibitions have been held at prestigious institutions like the Louvre, MoMA, and Whitechapel Gallery. Raad’s work has been featured in major biennales, including Venice and Documenta. He has received numerous awards, including the Hasselblad Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and is represented by Sfeir-Semler and Paula Cooper Galleries.

Location: Sfeir Semler Galleries Beirut

Dates: August 7, 2024 – January 4, 2025

Untitled(s)2024 3 LED neons Various dimensions Unique Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
Untitled(s), 2024, 3 LED neons Various dimensions Unique. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

‘Cotton Under My Feet: The Hamburg Chapter’ by Walid Raad at The Hamburger Kunsthalle

 

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