Two Suns in a Sunset

Overview

Grounded in the context of Beirut and events that are close to their personal lives, the works of Lebanese artists and filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige reflect the artists' ongoing interrogation of imagery, representation and history. Research is at the centre of their practice—each project beginning with an idea that develops and evolves through the materials the artists encounter along the way. Images and stories from the past are reactivated in the present creating narratives that are often open-ended and performative and where reality and fiction are in constant flux.

This major exhibition brings to Sharjah a wide selection of work by the artists created from the late 1990s to the present day. On view for the first time are two video works commissioned for this exhibition: Remembering the Light and ISMYRNA. Also on view are works commissioned or produced for past Sharjah Biennials – Faces (2009), the President's Album (2011) and the outdoor sculpture Cedar IV: A Reconstitution (2011). The exhibition presents works on paper, photographs, sculpture, sound and video installation, including the recent large-scale installation The Rumour of the World (2014) and projects such as Circle of Confusion (1997 – 2014) and Postcards of War (1997 – 2006) which invite the audience to be active participants by taking away parts of the work.

A selection of six full-length feature films by the artists will be screened at Sharjah Art Foundation's Mirage City Cinema between March and May 2016.

This presentation of Two Suns in a Sunset was curated by Hoor Al Qasimi and organised by Sharjah Art Foundation.

This exhibition has been coproduced by the Jeu de Paume, Paris, the Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, the Haus der Kunst, Munich and the Institut Valencia d'Art Modern.

Curated by Marta Gili (Jeu de Paume), Hoor Al-Qasimi (Sharjah Art Foundation), Anna Schneider (Haus der Kunst Munich) and Jose Miguel G. Cortes (Institut Valenica d'Art Modern).