SOLO EXHIBITION AT LAWRIE SHABIBI (SEP 18 - NOV 7, 2019) Larissa Sansour: AFTER

Photo above: Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 1, 2019, C-print, 160 x 60cm, 63 x 24 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 2, 2019, C-print, 160 x 60cm, 63 x 24 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

The exhibition is inspired by her acclaimed film In Vitro, commissioned for the Danish Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. Staged in the town of Bethlehem decades after an eco-disaster, the science-fiction film narrates the story of a subterranean orchard and its young successor who’s fated to never see the town she is destined to replant.

Inherited trauma, exile, and collective memory are central themes that transcend into the 15 photographs featured in AFTER - part reconstructed production stills, partly captured during the filming process. Developed in black and white for its stark, film quality, the images are intense, at times controversial, yet also sentimental and timeless, inviting the viewer to fill in their narrative.

An installation of carefully composed monochrome photographs that echo the two-channel viewpoint of In Vitro dominates the show. Some of the works juxtapose alternate views of deserted spaces and belongings – shattered remains of a past that filled the void as former dwellers fled in the face of a natural calamity.

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 3, 2019, C-print, 160 x 60cm, 63 x 24 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 4, 2019, C-print, 160 x 60cm, 63 x 24 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 7, 2019, C-print, 100 x 75 cm, 40 x 30 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

In other instances, the two perspectives mirror or merge into one, emphasizing the intensity of the disaster and its centrality in defining the course of history, with the Bethlehem setting providing a narratively, politically and symbolically charged backdrop.

Several nostalgic works are presented as standalone images or photographic sequences reminiscent of film negatives. The subject matter of these stills references the childhood memories of an elder generation - the final generation of Bethlehem to have lived a life above ground; the poets and custodians of collective memory.

The exhibition also presents two photographic works, documenting scenes and aspects of In Vitro, captured during the production process. Linking each of these works is Larissa Sansour’s fascination with the interplay between fiction and reality and the ever-evolving merger of myth and history which are defining themes in her practice. In itself, AFTER is an epitome of historical narratives, personal and collective memory in the aftermath of an apocalypse.

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 8, 2019, C-print, 100 x 75 cm, 40 x 30 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 10, 2019, C-print, 80 x 60 cm, 32 x 24 in, Edition of 10 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 12, 2019, C-print, 120 x 45 cm, 47 x 17 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 13, 2019, C-print, 120 x 45 cm, 47 x 17 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind, Bethlehem 14, 2019, C-print, 120 x 45 cm, 47 x 17 in, Edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi and the artist

CREDITS - In Vitro, 2-Channel Film, 2019

Featuring: Hiam Abbass, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Marah Abu Srour / Producer: Ali Roc1he / Line Producer (Palestine): May Odeh / Director of Photography: Anna Valdez Hanks / Lighting Gaffer: Carolina Schmidtholdstein / Editor: Sue Giovanni / Visual Effects Design: Henrik Bach Christensen / Original Music: Niklas Schak / Supervising Sound Editor: Tom Sedgwick / Sound Design: Ben Hurd / Colourist: Jason R. Moffat / Costume Designer: Anne Sofie Madsen / Costume Supervisor: Isabelle Cook / Makeup and Hair Designer: Susana Mota / 1st Assistant Director (UK): Ruaidhri Ryan / 1st Assistant Director (Palestine): Karam Ali / Production Manager (Palestine): Sophia Harb

Larissa Sansour, After, Installation view / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi

Larissa Sansour, After, Installation view / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi

Larissa Sansour, After, Installation view / Courtesy of Lawrie Shabibi

LARISSA SANSOUR

Larissa Sansour was born in 1973 in East Jerusalem. She studied Fine Art in Copenhagen, London, and New York. Her work is interdisciplinary and uses film, photography, installation, and sculpture.

Sansour has had several major solo shows internationally. Most recently she presented Heirloom, an exhibition curated by Nat Muller for the Danish Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. Previously, her Sci-Fi Trilogy has been shown at Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture. Her work In the Future They Ate from the Finest Porcelain has been exhibited in Liverpool, Rome, Cardiff, Copenhagen, Nottingham, Dubai, Madrid, and London, while her Nation Estate show has been presented in Rome, Jerusalem, Copenhagen, Wolverhampton, Turku, and Paris.

Her works are part of notable collections including the Wolverhampton Gallery, UK; the Imperial War Museum, UK; Louis Vuitton Collection, France, the Carlsberg Foundation, Denmark; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark; N.B.K., Germany; Nadour, Germany; Salsali Private Museum, UAE and the Barjeel Foundation, UAE.

In 2016, she was awarded the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF) Award for In The Future They Ate From The Finest Porcelain, in the Best Experimental Short Film category. In 2015, her aforementioned sci-fi short film was nominated for the Muhr Short Competition organized by the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). She is the beneficiary of a grant from the Arab Fund for Art & Culture and financial support for In The Future, They Ate From The Finest Porcelain, from The Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) a film she produced and co-directed with Soren Lind. She was invited as an artist in residence with the Moving Museum, Istanbul for three weeks in September 2014.

Larissa Sansour lives and works in London.