Ahlam Shibli is a Palestinian artist who has created a distinctive body of work comprising several projects that combine photography and contextual writing into a single narrative. Departing from the observation of domestic settings and the study of everyday situations, she gradually reveals multiple traumas imprinted in the bodies of oppressed, marginalised, and underrepresented members of society. Direct, yet unspectacular and respectful to the protagonists, Ahlam Shibli’s photographs afford a fragile space of resistance to both their subjects and their viewers.

In the exhibition, photographic projects realised between 1997 and 2017 are featured alongside the most recent work, Belonging (Arles and its surroundings, France, 2022–23), created during her residency at LUMA Arles. Ahlam Shibli’s earlier works have often been structured by strong binary conflicts and tensions. With all their different themes and subjects, the works in the exhibition, Dissonant Belonging, speak of being at home, longing for one, and having none.

At the heart of the third chapter of the Hans-Ulrich Obrist Archive lies his encounter with Agnès Varda (1928-2019), the filmmaker, feminist, and pioneer artist, central to the French New Wave film movement of the 50s and 60s. Varda’s artistic career spans, in her own words, three distinct yet interconnected lives as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual artist. The exhibition highlights Obrist’s crucial role in introducing Varda to the world of art, leading to her first invitation to participate in a contemporary art exhibition. Featuring unique works from Varda’s career and a selection of documents from Obrist’s archive, it reveals the interdisciplinary and curious nature of their shared vision.

schwarzescafé, Luma Westbau