The Certainty of Shadow with Adonis (Ahmed Said Esber)

Installation, Sacred / Mythological, Portrait, Freedom, Philosophy, Video installation, 600x170x1cm
The Certainty of Shadow - With Adonis, by Kali Jones and Maurizio Ruggiano

The Certainty of Shadow, the fruit of a lengthy collaboration between Kali Jones and Maurizio Ruggiano is a video installation filmed in Sicily with the participation of the Syrian poet and Nobel nominee, Adonis (Ahmad Said Esber).

Sicily, which is at the forefront of current mass migrations, is evoked as a kind of mythical place of possibilities and exchange for the peoples of the Mediterranean, a Mare Nostrum or al-Mutawassit (intermediate space).

We are migratory beings who shape our own destinies. In this sense, identity is an opening toward the infinite, continuously changing; our bodies are vast landscapes that allow us to experience the world and create our reality (Adonis).

The work is inspired by Plato's allegory of the Cave and Ibn 'Arabi's concept of "vision" as an act of transformation and creation.

Adonis takes us on a journey of discovery through the senses. The voyage begins in Syracuse, in the Ear of Dionysus, a cave and ancient Greek rock quarry, representative of the shadow world and possible place of inspiration for Plato's allegory. We then travel out of the cave, through landscapes both internal and external to the body in communion with nature. In search of experience, we explore the perception and representation of the world as a creative fluid space beyond cultural, historical and linguistic borders.

The labyrinth, as a metaphor for our journey and time on earth, figures as another important element of the installation. Naked bodies pace its empty streets, perhaps in search of one another… Represented by Alberto Burri's Cretto, the labyrinth is a Land Art piece built over the town of Gibellina (destroyed by an earthquake in 1968) and conceived as a mausoleum for the dead.

The Certainty of Shadow presents an experimental fabric of visual and acoustic sensation, exploring the notions of identity, time and space as a continuous becoming.

The installation is composed of three synchronized videos on separate screens.

The translations of Adonis’ poems are by Adnan Haydar and Michael Beard.

Ney by Bahram Deyjour

Click on link for critical essays by Sophie Isabelle-Dufour and Laura Marks :
http://kalijones.weebly.com/certainty-of-shadow--video.html



Has been liked by 9

Comments 0

Say something

You must login or Sign Up to write a comment Join