Manal Al Dowayan

The Imperfect Chronology: Mapping the Contemporary II group exhibition is on at London’s Whitechapel Gallery, opening August 23 and running to January 8.

The exhibition features work by Sophia Al-Maria, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Etel Adnan, Marwa Arsanios, Ali Cherri, Manal Al Dowayan, Sadik Al Fraji, Susan Hefuna, Zineb Sedira, Iman Issa, Jumana Manna, and GCC.

The works are drawn from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection of modern and contemporary Arab art, and the final display of a year-long series at the Whitechapel will focus on the theme of what the press release calls ‘mapping geographies’ which examines “the notion of statehood and exploring how artists engage with the rapidly expanding cities of the Arab region.”

Visit the Whitechapel Gallery website for more details.**

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, The All Hearing, 2014. Video, 12:42 minutes. Image courtesy Galeri NON and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah — Lawrence Abu Hamdan, ‘The All Hearing’ (2014). Video, 12:42 minutes. Image courtesy Galeri NON + Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.

There’s a lot of interest in the art and cultural map of the Middle East these days and we have a feeling ideas on Gulf Futurism, as proliferated by Sophia Al Maria, and Slavoj Žižek’s Living in the End of Times might have something to do with it (not mentioning Bidoun, those memes and the ‘Arab Spring’) . But there are plenty more impressions of the diverse region to be had, hence, the ICA‘s Off-Site: Cinema on The Steps:Contemporary Middle Eastern Film in London, running from Tuesday, August 20, to Thursday, August 22.

It features three nights of screenings curated by Abdellah Karroum, Alia Al Senussi and Abdullah Al Turki, and Ahmed Mater, including restored Egyptian classic The Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia), Manal Al Dowayan’s silent mash-up of belly dancing The Legends, and a talk by fellow contemporary artist and event curator Al Turki himself.

See the ICA website for details. **

Imperfect Chronology @ Whitechapel Gallery, Aug 23 – Jan 8

Contemporary Middle Eastern film @ ICA