Projections #8: First class – Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme x Feras Shaheen
Still from Only the beloved keeps our secrets (2016), image courtesy Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme
Our monthly Projections series at the Art Gallery of New South Wales returned on 25 February 2023 with an afternoon of performance and films exploring contemporary Palestinian image-worlds and identities.
Hosted by artist Feras Shaheen, with live oud music by Jabra Tarazi, the performance transformed the Domain Theatre foyer at the Art Gallery into a first-class lounge, where a satirical tourism campaign encouraged visitors to consider the contested, mediated perceptions of present-day Palestine.
In Shaheen’s words: ‘Your VIP ticket to the most exclusive Palestine travel campaign event. Experience food, music, performance and digital design in this influential pre-show foyer event. An immersive installation highlights your next holiday destination – Palestine, a rare hidden gem even Google Maps doesn’t know about it. First class is your latest opportunity to hear a traditional oud musician, taste manöshé, and learn the hottest new Palestinian dance moves, all to prepare you for your next vacation spot.’
The performance was followed by a screening of recent films by Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme.
Based between New York and Ramallah, the pair remix found and self-authored footage to examine how communities bear witness to experiences of violence, loss and displacement. With disjunctive editing and propulsive rhythm, their work collapses time and space, merging Palestinian folk songs with mass pop culture, and CCTV footage with YouTube clips of everyday people singing and dancing on the streets of Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Yemen.
About the artists
Feras Shaheen works across choreography, installation, visual art, performance, digital media and street dance. Born in Dubai to Palestinian parents, Feras moved to Western Sydney at age 11. Winner of the Australian Ballet’s Telstra Emerging Choreographer award in 2021, Shaheen has performed and exhibited in Sydney at Carriageworks, Pari and Campbelltown Arts Centre and internationally at Venice Biennale (Italy), Kampnagel (Germany), and Théâtre de la Ville (Paris).
Jabra Tarazi was born in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Since moving to Sydney in 2007 to pursue a Masters and PhD in electronics engineering, Tarazi has rediscovered his passion for music.
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme work together across a range of sound, image, text, installation and performance practices. They have performed and exhibited internationally, most recently at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2022), Art Institute of Chicago (2021), the Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands (2020), Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City (2019), and Disjecta, Portland, Oregon (2019).