Mounir Fatmi: History is Not Mine at Paradise Row Gallery

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by Bryony Harrison (subscribe)

Freelance writer and poet from London; if you would like to read my poetry, please check out my book, 'Poems on the Page', available from goo.gl/Ta4oAX.

Event: 19/04/2013 - 01/06/2013

"All warfare is based on deception"

mounir fatmi, history is not mine, paradise row

We have all heard the phrase that history the history books are always written by the winners of war. At best this gives us an incomplete picture of the past, while at worst, it presents a completely obscured interpretation of events.

Politicians, world leaders, and dictators have always censored the truth, hiding things that they do not want the public to know. Power deforms history, and this is what Mounir Fami focussed on in his latest exhibition, History is Not Mine. The exhibit can be seen until the 1st June at Paradise Row Gallery, and is an accumulation of multimedia installations that portray how capitalism, religion, and domineering bodies mould thought and language to suit the ruling minority.

The title of the exhibit refers back to a previous project Fatmi staged in Toulouse, which cited verse from the Koran. Unfortunately, the exhibit ended prematurely after tit kindled a series of violent riots.

The project included a six-hour video called Sleep Al-Naim, inspired by Andy Warhol's experimental film, Sleep. The video will be running continuously during the exhibition, which will include a second major installation that uses equestrian jumping poles. The poles are displayed inconveniently throughout the rooms, obstructing visitors from walking around freely, just as politicians can obstruct truth.

The final installation is a set of circular blades, which also contain phrases from the Koran, creating both beautiful, yet deadly pieces of art.