The opening ceremony of the 11th Cairo International Biennale took place on 21 December 2008. Past versions of this state-organised biennial have been slammed by critics:
The 10th edition of the Cairo International Biennale could have very well been the 8th or 9th….(and)once again highlights the division that exists in the local art circuit between the establishment, namely state-sponsored arts institutions including that of the Biennale, and the private or so-called independent art sector. Moreover, like it’s predecessors, a clear lack of curatorial direction in the selection makes the range of works on exhibition seem disconnected from each other as well as from international contemporary art practices from which the Biennale organisers claim to be operating from within.
We will have to wait for all the reviews to come in before we can determine the consensus view of the 11th edition but, whatevever the outcome, there is interesting art to explore. Here are Radar’s favourites:
Haruko Yamashita (Japan 1952) – sculptor who has lived in Paris and Italy
Gulsun Karamustafa (Turkey 1946) – film. She lives in Istanbul, reviewed by Art Forum, Frieze, Art in America Gulsun on wikipedia
Adel Abidin (Iraq 1973) – film sculpture. Now lives in Helsinki. He has exhibited in the Venice Biennale and MOCA Taipei and has been featured in international publications including Le Monde, Guardian, New York Times www.adelabidin.com
- Kimsooja (Korea 1957) multimedia from video to sewn works, exhibited at Sao Paolo Biennial and Venice Biennale Kimsooja’s website
Lotus
The principles of harmony and oneness are reflected in Kimsooja’s installation Lotus Zone of Zero, 2008, currently housed at Rotunda at Galerie Ravenstein in Brussels through January 18, 2009. The site specific installation consists of approximately 2000 lanterns shaped as lotus flowers. The visual is accompanied by sound in the form of Tibetan, Gregorian and Islamic chants that merge in the center of the space. Honoring a vision of peace, the work embodies the dance between individuality and universality, yin and yang, and a potential future for planet earth.
Evilmonito.com for featured artist review
Find below a complete list of artists from the Asian continent:
Azerbaijan: Adil Yusifov
Bahrain: Waheeda Malullah
Bangladesh: Firoz Mahmoud
China: Qiu Anxiong
Egypt: Adel Amien Al-Siwy, Arman Agoub Gubian, Essam Mohamed Maarouf, Hanafi Mahmoud Khalaf alla. Wael Kamal Wahby Fahmy Darwish
Iraq: Adel Abidin, Ali Assaf El-Gabry, Tamara Nouri
Japan : Haruko Yamashita
- Hani Hourani
Jordan: Hani Hourani
Korea: Kimsooja
Kuwait: Shorouk Amin
Lebanon: Khaled Ramadan, Salwa Zeidan
Libya: Ali al-Abani
Palestine: Hani Zurob
Qatar: Salam Al-Malek, Youseff Ahmed
Saudi Arabia: Ahmed Mater Al-Ziad, Fahd al-Hijilan, Faisal Samra
Syria: Buthayna Ali, Sabhan Adam
Turkey: Gulsun Karamustafa
See:
- Cairo Biennial website for more images and bios of artists
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