HD Gallery is playing host to the most recent project of the Saudi artist Faisal Samra “Shanty”, from March 30th to April 28th, 2012. Through this exhibition, Faisal Samra provides a unique interpretation of the universal and nonetheless current problem of poverty, in a series of diptychs, an installation and a video entitled "Shanty".
This phenomenon is primarily reflected in shantytowns, these closed worlds brimming with misery and precariousness which are of particular interest to the artist. More particularly, the artist wished to address the identity aspect of this phenomenon, by staging human beings trying to survive by their own means.
This phenomenon is primarily reflected in shantytowns, these closed worlds brimming with misery and precariousness which are of particular interest to the artist. More particularly, the artist wished to address the identity aspect of this phenomenon, by staging human beings trying to survive by their own means.
Video
In the video « Shanty », the artist explores a favorite medium by placing the setting in a slum alley of Casablanca. The video features five characters who, in a collective cry for help, desperately try to attract attention and raise awareness about their daily lives. In the face of general indifference, before which some accept their fate with modesty and dignity, resignation is not the absolute rule. This video reflects the aspirations of a population without a voice.
The strength of the video installation "Shanty" lies in an identical reproduction of the slum, taken out of its original context to invest the space of an art gallery.
The strength of the video installation "Shanty" lies in an identical reproduction of the slum, taken out of its original context to invest the space of an art gallery.
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| Shanty Project 2011- 2012 > Video installation > Installation dimensions: 243 x 217 x 327 cm > Composition : steel, wood, corrugated iron, recycled materials, tires, mirrors > Video duration : 5’22 |
Installation
"Shanty" project also consists of an installation representing a slum model about which Faisal Samra was very enthusiastic. Made from various recyclable materials, this installation provides an interesting contrast between the rough, ramshackle external appearance and an interior lined entirely with mirrors and showing the video "Shanty". The result is a surprising arabesque, in which the video sequences are cloned to infinity. This notion of cloning, which is found both in the form and the content of this organic work, supports the idea that images of slums will be reflected for as long as these exclusion centers exist.
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| Shanty (Rolex), 2012 > Diptych > Digital photography – lambda print / aluminium and plexiglass > 100 x 150 cm (each) |
Diptychs
This unprecedented work finds continuity in the photographic series "Shanty, in which Faisal Samra superimposes symbols of consumer society upon diptychs with the slums as a background. He uses luxury brands, signs of U.S. imperialism, and comic book heroes so as to revisit the values and symbols of the contemporary Western world and juxtapose them against the reality of the slums. A powerful contrast between the ostentatious signs of superfluous wealth and the poverty of the urban slum emerges from these pictures, further increasing the sense of injustice.
FAISAL SAMRA
«Shanty» Project
From March 30th to April 28th, 2012
«Shanty» Project
From March 30th to April 28th, 2012
www.hdgalerie.com
Address: 6, rue des Tilleuls (ex Boulogne) > 20 330 CASABLANCA
Tél. : + 212 (5) 22 26 10 48
Address: 6, rue des Tilleuls (ex Boulogne) > 20 330 CASABLANCA
Tél. : + 212 (5) 22 26 10 48
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