Mohamad Abdouni says of his work that he strives to “preserve the stories that are condemned every day to be erased”. In this respect, his photographic practice could be said to be based on relationships: relationships with the people who trust him with their archives; relationships with these same archives and the people they document. It is also a practice of caring, tenderness and gentleness that supports work with technology and sensitive AI.
For his solo exhibition at the Fondation, Mohamad Abdouni follows this line, this time adopting an introspective approach and diving into his personal and intimate history. Reassessing his relationship with the Bekaa, the region in which he grew up, he questions the voices and bodies that populate his memories and his imagination. He uses figures and media, and combines temporalities, relationships and desires.
Mohamad Abdouni is the laureate of the 2023 Production Support from Lafayette Anticipations, awarded to one of the artists of the Galeries Émergentes sector of Paris+ par Art Basel, renamed Emergence Sector of Art Basel Paris in 2024.
As part of the official partnership between the Galeries Lafayette group and Paris+ par Art Basel, this support is granted to one of the 14 artists of the Emergence sector. The winner benefits from the production of an artwork in the workshops of the Lafayette Anticipations Foundation and receive curatorial guidance.
For the launch of the second edition of Paris+ par Art Basel, the artist was selected by an international jury composed of Guillaume Houzé, President of Lafayette Anticipations and Director of Image and Communication for the Galeries Lafayette group,Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, Director of Lafayette Anticipations, Ruba Katrib, Director of Curatorial Affairs at MoMA PS1, Diana Campbell Bétancourt, Artistic Director of the Samdani Art Foundation in Bangladesh and Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit and Akeem Smith, the 2022 laureate of Production Support, currently presenting the exhibition One last cry at Lafayette Anticipations.
The Galeries Émergentes sector of Paris+ par Art Basel, renamed Emergence Sector of Art Basel Paris in 2024, with the official partnership of the Galeries Lafayette group, brings together galleries showcasing young and emerging artists through solo exhibitions.
Press release from Lafayette Anticipations
Image: Mohamad Abdouni. There’s a Man Hiding in the Grass. Date unknown. Digital Type-C print. Exhibition Soft Skills, 16 October – 17 November 2024, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris © Mohamad Abdouni, 2024
