Zineb Sidera, portrait by Sueraya Shaheen.
Algerian-French multimedia artist Zineb Sedira is presenting a solo exhibition cleverly titled Now You See Me–Now You See Me, curated by Holiday Powers, VCU Qatar Assistant Professor in Art History at the Virginia Commonwealth University Gallery in Qatar on Wednesday night. The title was dreamed up by Powers, who sought inspiration from Lebanese filmmaker Jalal Toufic’s essay Middle Eastern Films Before Thy Gaze Returns to Thee. “I also liked that it played with the typical magician’s phrasing ‘Now you see me, now you don’t,’” shares Powers with Vogue Arabia.
The exhibition will feature four works by Sidera. Among them is Gardiennes d’image (Image Keepers, 2010), which is a video installation that projects archival photographs by Mohamed Kouaci, Algeria’s only photojournalist who covered the War for Independence, presented by his widow. “The three screen video installation is a beautiful work that is appealing because it is simultaneously personal and political,” explains the curator, “On the one hand, the installation is a meditation on time passing and the personal history of a couple through the eyes of the widow. On the other hand, it is also a pointed engagement with archiving and national memory that tells one aspect of the history of Algerian decolonization,” adds Powers.
Other works featured in the month-long exhibition include Sugar Silo and Seafaring (2013), which trace the history of sugar and its routes of production to touch on issues of displacement, the past, and preserving history.
Born in Paris to Algerian parents who fled their homeland after the Algerian War for Independence, Sedira explores the topics of memory and mobility through her work. The artist currently resides in London, and employs various artistic mediums—including photography, video, and text—to touch on various issues (based on her own experiences), such as representation, language, and family. Following graduating from Central St. Martins, Sedira has exhibited her work across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.
Now You See Me–Now You See Me: From November 9th to December 10th, Qatar
