Il progetto, composto da immagini, oggetti, documenti, archivi, testi e materiale audiovisivo, è una riflessione sulle origini.
Salameh scrive «Da quando sono scappato dal Libano su un traghetto ad alta velocità, verso la fine della guerra civile, le visite nel mio paese natale sono rare. Dopo diversi tentativi falliti di documentare questi “ritorni”, ho finito per scoprire territori inesplorati e “traumascapes” (siti associati a un passato doloroso. Ricordare e rappresentare questo passato amaro gioca un ruolo fondamentale nel plasmare il future attraverso l’appredimento e l’esperienza), prolungando il mio viaggio verso “casa”. Invece, di giungere a destinazione, il viaggio sembra infinito, come se il ritorno fosse impossibile e l’autoesilio fosse uno stato d’animo.
In attesa dell’oblio, questi risultati sono stati trasformati in brevi narrazioni, visive o scritte. Alcuni elementi sono stati scoperti nello scrigno dell’isola del tesoro chiamato “infanzia” e altri sono stati persi per sempre. Da quando ho iniziato questo viaggio nel 2000, ho anche dato asilo ad alcuni oggetti ed elementi, sopravvissuti dalla mia migrazione e da quella dei miei parenti».
Una preview del progetto LET US STOP AND WEEP è stata presentata a Palermo, tra il 2015 e il 2016, a Dimora OZ e presso il Museo Riso.
Note biografiche
Georges Salameh è un artista greco-libanese. Ha studiato cinema all’Université Paris VIII St. Denis e ha vissuto e lavorato tra il Libano, Cipro, Grecia, Sicilia e Francia.
La ricerca artistica di Salameh si sviluppa attraverso l’uso di differenti media, quali la fotografia e il video, e ruota intorno ai paesaggi urbani del Mediterraneo, testimoni reali della storia passata e contemporanea riconsiderati dall’artista come elementi narrativi e poetici della realtà.
February 22, 2020, at 19:00, at Église “LET US STOP AND WEEP” with Georges Salameh is performed as an audiovisual storytelling.
In the little church, just for one evening, an installation will be created with images, objects, documents, archives, text and audiovisual materials.
LET US STOP AND WEEP is a body of work inspired by the poetry and life of Imru’l Qais – امرؤالقيس ,an Arab poet and author of one of seven famous “suspended poems” from the time of Jahiliyyah, the pre-Islamic era. They are a meditation on origins; its ruins and wanderings.
Salameh writes: «Since my escape from Lebanon on a high speed ferry, toward the end of the civil war, visits to the country of my birth are rare. After several failed attempts to document these few"returns", I ended up discovering locations of unexplored territories and prohibited traumascapes*, extending my
travel towards "home". Instead of approaching destination, the journey seems endless, as if returning was impossible and self-exile had become a state of spirit. Awaiting oblivion, these findings were morphed into short narrations, visual or written. Some elements were rescued out of the treasure island's box called 'childhood' and some lost for ever. Since the beginning of this journey in 2000, I also harboured some objects and items, 'survivors' from my own and other relatives' migrations.
This series is achieved through a disposition of meanings, a detailed description and a creative comparison of reality. At times, it longs to the obscene and to laceration, and others to the noble and to the sovereign.»
*Traumascapes are sites associated with the painful past. Remembering and representing this bitter past plays a crucial role in shaping the future through learning and experiencing.
LET US STOP AND WEEP is a body of work inspired by the poetry and life of Imru’l Qais – امرؤالقيس ,an Arab poet and author of one of seven famous “suspended poems” from the time of Jahiliyyah, the pre-Islamic era. They are a meditation on origins; its ruins and wanderings.
Salameh writes: «Since my escape from Lebanon on a high speed ferry, toward the end of the civil war, visits to the country of my birth are rare. After several failed attempts to document these few"returns", I ended up discovering locations of unexplored territories and prohibited traumascapes*, extending my
travel towards "home". Instead of approaching destination, the journey seems endless, as if returning was impossible and self-exile had become a state of spirit. Awaiting oblivion, these findings were morphed into short narrations, visual or written. Some elements were rescued out of the treasure island's box called 'childhood' and some lost for ever. Since the beginning of this journey in 2000, I also harboured some objects and items, 'survivors' from my own and other relatives' migrations.
This series is achieved through a disposition of meanings, a detailed description and a creative comparison of reality. At times, it longs to the obscene and to laceration, and others to the noble and to the sovereign.»
*Traumascapes are sites associated with the painful past. Remembering and representing this bitter past plays a crucial role in shaping the future through learning and experiencing.
Greek-Lebanese artist whose work is predominantly lens-based. Studied Film at Paris VIII St. Denis. Lived in Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece, France and Sicily.
Salameh's artistic research develops through the use of different media, such as photography and video, and revolves around the urban and the landscapes of the Mediterranean, real witnesses of past and contemporary history reconsidered by the artist as narrative and poetic elements of reality.
