Taking the classical story of Dido and Aeneas as its starting point, the exhibition will include the work of nine contemporary artists, each exploring the theme of heartbreak. From personal to political, the works in ‘Heartbreak’ will align with RUYA MAPS’ mission to support artists working in, or concentrating on, areas of political instability, while addressing the need for a wider global conversation about loss, betrayal and exploitation. The exhibition will be RUYA MAPS’ first presentation in Venice and will include work by Majd Abdel Hamid (b. 1988), Talar Aghbashian (b. 1981), Lana Čmajčanin (b. 1983), Maryam Hoseini (b. 1988), Imad Issa (b. 1953), Farah Khelil (b. 1980), Randa Maddah (b. 1983), Füsun Onur (b. 1938) and Christiana Soulou (b.1961).
The works on display explore the collective heartbreak felt by communities experiencing war and conflict. A number of new commissions directly concern Dido’s experience of heartbreak, and interrogate violence as a source of heartbreak through Virgil’s story. Tamara Chalabi, Director or RUYA MAPS and co-curator of ‘Heartbreak’ has said: “Our exhibition follows the map of the ancient world, reaching east to Persia and west to Rome, to trace this journey of heartbreak. In recent and current times, over this extended area, notable cultural and political trauma – through the loss of countries and the loss of lives in war – contribute to the loss of the past and a loss of hope. We are exploring the voices of artists who negotiate their lives and creativity from heartbreak to heartbreak, because of their love for a person, a family, a social group or a country.”
Farah Khelil (b. 1980, Carthage) lives and works between Paris and Tunis. She has an MA in Fine Arts from the Institut supérieur des beaux-arts in Tunis and she holds a PhD in Art and Art Sciences from the Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris 1, where she has taught since 2010. She has exhibited internationally with recent solo exhibitions at Undercurrent Projects, New York (2016), Appartement 27 bis, Paris (2017) and Selma Feriani Gallery, London (2018). Khelil has been included in group exhibitions at Galerie deux, Marseille (2017), B’chira Art Center, Tunis (2017) and Handel Street Projects, London (2017). In 2017 she had a residency at Under the Sand in Gafsa. Khelil participated in Jaou festival, Tunisia (2018) and ‘Le Pavillon de l'Exil – Escale 03’ in Senegal (2018). Khelil won first prize at the 2005 Digital Solidarity contest and first prize at the Art et Cultures Numérique contest in 2007. She was recently nominated for the 2019 AWARE Prize for Women Artists.
Exhibition Dates | 01.05.19 to 24.11.19
Ca’ del Duca | Venice, Italy
To see the video of "Heartbreak - Farah Khelil" by RUYA MAPS click here