Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and organised by the Lebanese Visual Art Association (LVAA), the Lebanese Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will showcase the multimedia installation “A Dance with her Myth” by artist Mounira Al Solh curated and commissioned by Nada Ghandour. This exhibition, occupying 180 square meters will be displayed at the Arsenale from April 20 to November 24, 2024.
Courtesy of the Artist; Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg © LVAA Photo credit: ©Quinn Oosterbaan
“A Dance with Her Myth” unfolds, comprising 41 pieces spanning drawings, paintings, sculptures, embroideries, and video. Al Solh’s display reimagines the ancient tale of Europa’s abduction, offering insights into contemporary women’s aspirations and struggles.
Delving into Lebanon’s rich heritage, rooted in Phoenician lore, Al Solh pays homage to timeless narratives that have shaped cultures across millennia. Through her pieces, she amplifies the voice of Phoenician princess Europa, symbolic of female resilience and agency.
Courtesy of the Artist; Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg © LVAA Photo credit: ©Quinn Oosterbaan
Al Solh’s reinterpretation of the myth transcends time, infusing it with modern relevance. She subverts traditional gender dynamics, challenging historical narratives of domination and submission. By empowering Europa to assert her agency and manipulate Zeus, Al Solh disrupts entrenched gender stereotypes, advocating for a more balanced and egalitarian society.
“A Dance with Her Myth” unfolds within an immersive setting, anchored by a symbolic boat symbolising emancipation and gender equality. The installation’s unfinished structure embodies an ongoing journey towards empowerment. Visitors navigate a landscape where paintings and graphic works confront societal norms, while masks represent conservative forces.
Al Solh’s artistic strategy employs transposition, deviation, and distortion to subvert traditional iconography, inviting viewers into an intermediary realm of allegory and reality. Architect Karim Bekdache’s scenography facilitates the interaction between audience and artwork, fostering an engagement with themes of identity, resilience, and transformation.
Ultimately, “A Dance with Her Myth” transcends the confines of mythological narrative, inviting viewers to participate in a contemporary discourse on gender equality and empowerment. Through Al Solh’s visionary reimagining, the Pavilion becomes a space for reflection, dialogue, and the celebration of Lebanon’s enduring cultural legacy.
We asked Mounira Al Solh and Nada Ghandour a few questions about the exhibition:
Mounira Al Solh
What inspired the choice of the Greco-Phoenician myth of Europa for the multimedia installation at the 2024 Lebanese Pavilion?
Mounira Al Solh: There was a need for searching back our ancient history, to go through our current recent catastrophes. I started researching Phoenician history and the time between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. It’s shifting times that resemble what we are going through today. Then I stopped at Europa’s myth when I went to Tyre. And I realized this should be the main focus of the work. In the future, I would like to continue with Phoenician princesses and women figures. At first, to reclaim history that was written about us, by male historians, who looked at us as “the other” and perhaps even as “inferiors” to them.
How does the exhibition “A Dance with Her Myth” aim to address the issues and challenges facing women in Lebanon and beyond?
Mounira Al Solh: Europa was seduced and abducted by Zeus. She has been vividly portrayed as a sexual symbol, as seen by the male gaze. I want to reclaim that, and I want to paint her as a woman who has her agency. This is what I hope to reclaim, as a woman.
Nada Ghandour
Could you elaborate on the significance of the Pavilion’s theme of emancipation, freedom, solidarity, and gender equality in contemporary Lebanese society?
Nada Ghandour: The Pavilion of Lebanon addresses the issues that women are facing today through the timeless myth of the abduction of the Phoenician princess Europa. Written and devised by men, the artist Mounira, instead, chooses to reinterpret the myth with the eyes and beliefs of a woman of today, determined, and free. Even though there are conscious efforts to eliminate the disparity between men and women, it is clear that this disparity still exists, and there are many examples, to name a few: the parity between women and men in the work field is still not yet fully applied in terms of salary and positions. These issues are not only relevant to the Lebanese but also exist on the international level. In Lebanon, it is further aggravated because a woman cannot pass on her nationality to her children. The Lebanese Pavilion presents this exhibition to the public, aiming to nurture collective social and political awareness through the transformative power of art for a more equal society.
What was your experience like working on the Lebanese Pavilion and collaborating with Mounira Al Solh to bring “A Dance with her Myth” to life?
Nada Ghandour: It is an honour for me to serve for the second time as the Commissioner and Curator of the Pavilion of Lebanon at the renowned Biennale Arte 2024. I aimed to bring to this important international art platform a theme that is not only Lebanese relevant but also of universal relevance. I salute Mounira’s exceptional creativity, she has brilliantly succeeded in combining the heritage of our country and its modernity. From the history of art point of view, her monumental 180 sq. multimedia installation offers a new iconography of this important theme. While famous artists such as Titian, Veronese, Picasso, and Botero depicted the rapt of Europe from what is now commonly known as the male gaze, Mounira’s new iconography contributes to the fulfilment of a female destiny, free from the “gods” – that is, assuming the role and responsibility of men without being subjected to them. The temporality of ‘A Dance with Her Myth’ is not that of the myth, but that of the artist in dialogue with the viewer, here and now.
About Munira Al Solh
Mounira Al Solh, born in 1978 in Beirut, Lebanon, and currently residing between Beirut and Amsterdam, is a versatile visual artist. Her multimedia practice, encompassing video, painting, drawing, text, embroidery, and performance, is characterised by irony and self-reflection. Al Solh delves into feminist themes, micro-histories, conflict, displacement, social issues, and political and poetic escapism. She employs oral documentation, collaboration, and wordplay to explore memory and loss, striving to create a sensory language transcending nationality and creed. Al Solh co-initiated with NOA magazine in 2008 and founded NOA Language School in Amsterdam in 2013. Her works have been exhibited globally, and she has received prestigious awards and nominations for her contributions to contemporary art. She holds degrees from the Lebanese University and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and has completed a research residency at the Rijksakademie.
Location: The Arsenale, Venice, Italy.
Dates: April 20 to November 24, 2024.
Photo credit: ©Quinn Oosterbaan