Maxime Hourani was invited for residency at Nordic Art Associations' guest studio in Stockholm (NKF) to produce his upcoming solo exhibition The Hand That Tells, The Hand That Waters at Konsthall C opening on the 14th of August until the 27th of September. The residency has been cancelled because the artist was denied visa to enter Sweden. Please read the text below written by Konsthall C to get a fuller understanding of the Hourani´s artistic practice, the exhibition at Konsthall C and the unfortunate situation.
/ NKF
The Hand That Tells, The Hand That Waters, which features a film, hand-made instruments, and an audio piece. In this newly produced work, he conjures sacred and profane apparitions encountered in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Hourani conducts a speculative survey of the desert, subverting the gaze of developers who see the terrain as empty, silent, and ripe for exploitation. Instead, he focuses on the desert’s metaphysical nature, drawing on early Christian and apocryphal tales. This vision is complemented by a sculptural installation made of instruments inspired by liturgical rites. These are imagined as vessels: tools for transportation into the ecstatic, occult visions of the early men and women who were hermits in the desert.
Artist bio: Maxime Hourani (b. 1982, Lebanon) is an artist working with time-based media, exploring themes of landscape transformation and shifting ecologies. His previous research focused on 19th-century Arab futurism, specifically focused on the question of posthuman thinking at the turn of the Industrial Revolution. He also worked on the theme of “petromodernity” and the influence of the 1970s oil crisis on architectural technology. His work has been shown recently at Malmö Konstmuseum, Istanbul Biennial, and Skēne, Malmo. Before, his works were shown in group exhibitions at Tensta Konsthall (2019), Malmö Konstmuseum (2017), Jerusalem Show VII (2014), and the Beirut Art Center (2013). He completed his studies at the Malmö Art Academy.
It is important to note the difficult conditions under which this artwork has been produced due to the current Israeli war on Lebanon. Despite maintaining residency in Sweden and securing support from Swedish entities for the production of this artwork, the artist was refused entry into Sweden on two separate accounts.
/ Konsthall C