Aya Haidar - 1982
19 Mar - 15 May 2009
1982 (Installation detail), 2009, Mixed media, Dimension variable
BISCHOFF/WEISS is pleased to present the first solo exhibition by Aya Haidar.
1982 is an installation comprised of several large maps set in Lebanon, illustrating a historically and personally significant year of war for the artist. The work exploits hand-marked checkpoints corresponding to a musical apparatus, effectively scanning the maps, emitting a raw, often unpredictable dialect of instrumental sound. Inside, darkness fills the room heightening all senses. 1982 inhibits feelings of fear and loss, enhanced by a curiosity to explore. Illuminating a way through the space, the viewer can divine a route through unknown paths and streets of Lebanon. Discovering a distant land; unearthing a familiar political soil. Rendering 1982 as a visual narrative; reading the land like notes.
Aya Haidar's musical translation of the checkpoint maps was a collaborative effort with Lebanese composer, Bushra El-Turk. The music is based on an 11-note theme and textural gestures that repeat relentlessly. The violinist Alda Dizdari improvised based on these designated notes, which were then re-structured, based on the density/sparcity of the allocated dots on the map and agreed on the order of the maps to make musical and visual sense.
As part of her practice, Aya Haidar reworks systems and formats within texts and other medias. Doctoring the content renders wider implications. 1982 is a product of this approach. This conduction of a formidable history departing into an instrumental format, articulates an understanding of the symbiotic nature of language and the communication of it. 1982 exemplifies the idea of travel, a journey, transference of altered meanings through another medium. Shaping our experience of Lebanon 1982.
Aya Haidar was born in Lebanon and graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, London in 2008. Recent group shows include: London Peace Week, IARS in partnership with ROTA and WRC, ( 2008); Women for Peace, Stockholm (2007). Aya Haidar is currently studying an MSc in Non-Governmental Organisations & Development at the London School of Economics, London. She lives and works in London.
1982 is an installation comprised of several large maps set in Lebanon, illustrating a historically and personally significant year of war for the artist. The work exploits hand-marked checkpoints corresponding to a musical apparatus, effectively scanning the maps, emitting a raw, often unpredictable dialect of instrumental sound. Inside, darkness fills the room heightening all senses. 1982 inhibits feelings of fear and loss, enhanced by a curiosity to explore. Illuminating a way through the space, the viewer can divine a route through unknown paths and streets of Lebanon. Discovering a distant land; unearthing a familiar political soil. Rendering 1982 as a visual narrative; reading the land like notes.
Aya Haidar's musical translation of the checkpoint maps was a collaborative effort with Lebanese composer, Bushra El-Turk. The music is based on an 11-note theme and textural gestures that repeat relentlessly. The violinist Alda Dizdari improvised based on these designated notes, which were then re-structured, based on the density/sparcity of the allocated dots on the map and agreed on the order of the maps to make musical and visual sense.
As part of her practice, Aya Haidar reworks systems and formats within texts and other medias. Doctoring the content renders wider implications. 1982 is a product of this approach. This conduction of a formidable history departing into an instrumental format, articulates an understanding of the symbiotic nature of language and the communication of it. 1982 exemplifies the idea of travel, a journey, transference of altered meanings through another medium. Shaping our experience of Lebanon 1982.
Aya Haidar was born in Lebanon and graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, London in 2008. Recent group shows include: London Peace Week, IARS in partnership with ROTA and WRC, ( 2008); Women for Peace, Stockholm (2007). Aya Haidar is currently studying an MSc in Non-Governmental Organisations & Development at the London School of Economics, London. She lives and works in London.