“A way of surviving, a way of life”
This was from a few months back, fresh from our long vacation in the Philippines. As usual, we went back to the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation for our #LibraryDay. We were lucky to still have the chance to visit the exhibit by Zineb Sedira which ran from October 2024 to March 2025. As in any past exhibits, we checked it out first before going up to the Children's Library.
Dreams Have No Titles
The first thing that caught out attention was Dreams Have No Titles. Presented in this amazing cinema box right in the middle of the atrium, it felt like a proper movie experience.
It had rows of seats facing a big screen that showed snippets of conversations and past histories of the artist.
Dreams Have No Titles was originally created for the French Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. This exhibition has been adapted to include films and objects related to postcolonial cinema from France, Italy, and Algeria in the 1960s and 1970s,highlighting themes of liberation and solidarity intertwined with Sedira's own biography.
The installation featured a full-scale cinema box, complete with ticketing booth, signage, and original historic chair from the era.
We also had a glimpse of the archiving and editing of the past where there were shelves of film cans and a flat bed editing table.
I have no clue what this is... 😅 it looked like a giant cassette tape recorder. So maybe this was a film recorder in the 60's. Lol.
Look, loads of films! Imagine the kind of work they did at that era when digitization wasn't even a thought. How big of a space they required to keep records and films... now we can save media in the cloud!
Generations, Conversations.
I particularly loved Mother Tongue. It included 3-screen video installation - the Artist,Sedira, her mother, and her daughter.
In the first screen, Sedira could be seen talking to her mother in French while she responds in Arabic. On the second screen, Sedira could be seen recounting the same experiences to her daugher in French, who in turn responds to her in English. On the third screen, her mother and daughter could be seen talking to each other, but hindered by no common language between them.🥺
The focus on the transmission of language and the feeling of disconnect when that link is weakened was powerful. It made me think about the importance of preserving our own family stories and yes, trying harder to teach my children the Filipino language, our Mother Tongue.
Image Keepers
The last vide installation we came by was the Image Keepers.
It featured the widow of an Algerian photographer whose work was about documenting the Algerian transition from colonial rule to independence.
After his death, his wife dedicated herself to preserving his extensive archives which have immense historical value.
The artist recognizes the importance of preserving these images to protect their country's history from challenging historical revolutionism.
Insightful.
It was a very insightful afternoon at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. The kids and I are always excited when we see new exhibits pop up during our visits. Sedira's exhibit just asserts the power of film in storytelling, not to mention this artist's compelling way of putting them together to preserve narratives.
All photos are owned by the author unless stated otherwise.