Moment – Frontlines

There are epic qualities in portrayals from the war and the fronts. The subject is as timeless and intriguing as the conflicts appear endless; from Homer to Hurt Locker, from Sun Zi to Al Jazeera. But with constant updates in media reports on conflict zones, we as spectators become numbed and insensitive to the fragmented flow of images and stories.

Omer Fast, Wael Shawky and Natalia Almada work with moving images, in different practices, but with points in common. The works in this relay exhibition discuss given conflicts and political scenarios, in the present or past. They challenge the terms for cinematic narrative and the requirements for portraying a reality. Whereas art, like film, occasionally embraces almost fetishistic expressions of violence, these artists employ distance and circumlocution as their most effective tools. Without presenting answers or truths, they allow us to focus our gaze.

Curator: Lena Essling

Omer Fast

22 FEBRUARY – 21 MARCH 2013
Omer Fast (Israel, b. 1972) creates scenarios where the boundary between reality and fiction is dissolved, often based on reports and eyewitness accounts of war situations.

Wael Shawky

22 MARCH – 17 APRIL 2013
Wael Shawky (Egypt, b. 1971) films and video installations highlight events that have led to social change in the Arab world, with regard to politics, religion or the arts.

Natalia Almada

19 APRIL – 19 MAY 2013
Natalia Almada (Mexico, b. 1974) scrutinises the violent underbelly of Mexican society in a series of experimental documentaries.