Catalogue > At random

Three Love Songs explores the multiple ways to use and manipulate images to create juxtapositions of meanings from the mundane to the extreme. This piece examines terror and love, and how façades are played through song, specifically Iraqi songs that were commissioned by Saddam Hussein, used to glorify the regime during the decades of his rule. The installation syncs three stylized music videos (lounge, jazz and pop) that each features an archetypal western chanteuse: young, blonde, and seductive. Each video?s dramatic ?look? creates a different atmosphere but the songs dedicated to Saddam Hussein tie them together. The lyrics are sung by the performers in Arabic (Iraqi dialect) and are subtitled in English and Arabic. The singers do not know what they are singing about, but they are directed to perform (though voice and gesture) as though the songs were traditional, passionate love songs. It is this uncomfortable juxtaposition ? between the lush visual romanticism and the harsh meaning of the lyrics, between the seduction of the performer and comprehension of the viewer ? that forms the main conceptual element of this work.

Adel Abidin is a visual artist. His multi-media practice explores the complex relationships between culture, politics, and identity. Using a sharp palette of irony and humor, Abidin gravitates towards social situations dealing with elusive experiences and cultural alienation. Abidin uses his cross-cultural background to create a distinct visual language often laced with sarcasm and paradox, while maintaining his ultimately humanistic approach. Abidin was born in Baghdad in 1973 and currently lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. He has exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions including the Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art (KIASMA), the Centre of Contemporary Art, Salamanca, the 10th Sharjah Biennale, The 17th Sydney Biennale, and the 52nd and 54th Venice Biennale. In 2010 he exhibited his well-known video installation, Three Love Songs, at Mathaf. In 2011 he presented his critically acclaimed video installation, Consumption of War. Adel`s exhibitions in 2012 included: L`institut du Monde Arabe, a major solo exhibition at Arter ? space for art in Istanbul and at Kunsthalle Winterthur, Switzerland. He has also been selected to participate in a group show in Tokyo at The Mori Art Museum In 2013, his 2006 video installation, 52 Guaranteed Affections, got selected to be part of the big celebrated anniversary group exhibition at the Mori Art Museum. Adel`s work has been part of a group exhibition at the Mead Gallery in the UK. And also exhibited at Hauser & Wirth Gallery in London. The New York Times selected his work Al-Warqaa 2013, as the main piece of Middle Eastern art during Dubai art fair. In 2014, Adel will be exhibiting at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, the Contemporary Art Museum in Rome, the Louvre-Lens Museum in France and many others.