Gui Mohallem at EXA
From March 5 to 21, the Minas Gerais-based artist Gui Mohallem will feature previously unseen works at EXA – Espaço Experimental de Arte. Mohallem is one of the artists shortlisted for this year’s Southern Panoramas show, of 18th International Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil. The Tcharafna show is the outcome of a six-week residency undertaken by the artist in Lebanon from May to June 2012, combining photographs and videos taken during his stay. Rather than putting forth one single, linear narrative, Tcharafna addresses issues relating to historical conflicts and local cultural traits, but from a perspective of someone who is close to the events at hand. On photographing and filming, Mohallem wears his proximity and emotional ties with the locations on his sleeve: Fakiha, the northeastern Lebanese area where he spent his residency, is the place of origin of the artist’s family.
The Lebanese community in Brazil today outnumbers the population of Lebanon – there are nearly 10 million Lebanese and their descendants in Brazilian territory, and some 4 million in the original country. Intrigued by this sense of belonging-whilst-renouncing Lebanon, Mohallem set out to address his ambiguous relationship with his motherland, and dubious feelings of identification and rejection.
The show opens at 7:00 pm on March 5, and closes on March 21. From March 6 onwards, Tcharafna will remain open for visitation from Wednesdays to Fridays from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and on Saturdays, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Gui Mohallem
A native of Itajubá, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Gui Mohallem holds a degree in Film and Video form the School of Communication and Arts of the University of São Paulo (ECA/USP). He had his first solo exhibition, Ensaio Para a Loucura, in New York, 2008. Back in São Paulo, he featured in Paraty em Foco 2009 in 2011, and in shows at the Olido, Babel, Baró Cruz, and Emma Thomas galleries. In 2011 he had two solo shows in São Paulo, one in Brasília, and one in the United States. In 2012 he released his first book, Welcome Home, with images of his experience in a Southeast USA sanctuary as a Celtic ritual is performed to celebrate fertility and the arrival of spring.
His participation in the Crossing Point residency program, offered by London’s Photo Festivals non-profit organization, was made possible by Programa de Intercâmbio e Difusão Cultural, a cultural exchange and diffusion program of Brazil’s Ministry of Culture.
Service
Tcharafna | by Gui Mohallem: March 5 to 21, 2013
EXA - Espaço Experimental de Arte | Rua Tomé de Souza, 815, 2nd floor, Savassi