Yazan Khalili
Regarding Distance
8 April–24 May 2014
Private view: Tuesday 8 April, 6:30pm
EOA.PROJECTS Gallery
40 Elcho Street
London SW11 4AU
EOA.PROJECTS is proud to present Regarding Distance, the first major solo exhibition in the United Kingdom by acclaimed Palestinian artist Yazan Khalili. This show features works produced over the last decade which explore the scarred and fraught landscapes of the West Bank, where the artist grew up.
Khalili’s output is detailed, reflective and full of intent. Predominantly using photography and the written word, he unpacks historically constructed landscapes. Borrowing from cinematic language, images become frames where the spectator embodies the progression of time. The artist has woven together parallel stories over the years, suggesting both questions and paradoxes concerning scenery and the act of gazing, all of which are refracted through the prism of personal identity. In particular, he focuses on the effect of geographical distance on our rendering of territory, and its ability to heighten or arrest our political and sentimental attachments.
The exhibition features video work, photography and drawings, including some of Khalili’s best-known projects: Regarding Distance, The Aliens, On Love and Other Landscapes and The Slaughterhouse. These works are accompanied by lucid and engaging texts reflecting upon and mediating this visual output. They include accounts of journeys through ‘Area C,’ in the occupied West Bank, unplanned stops in car dumps and attempts to reach the sea; others are broader interactions with the notion of landscape in a Palestinian context and a refusal to depict the Israeli-built wall. They form a critical strand in the work of this pioneering Palestinian artist.
About the artist
Born 1981, lives and works in and out of Palestine. Yazan Khalili received a degree in Architecture from Birzeit University (2003) and graduated with a Master’s degree from Goldsmiths, University of London (2010). He was one of the founding members of Zan Design Studio (2005) and a finalist in the A. M. Qattan Foundation’s Young Artists Award (2006), as well as an artist-in-residence at The Delfina Foundation in London (2008) and The Danish Film School (2006). He was the Production Coordinator for Sharjah Biennials 9 and 10. He taught Politics of Production course at the International Art Academy – Palestine, and co-curated, along with Reem Shilleh, the Young Artist of the Year Award (YAYA 2012). His writings and photographs have been featured in publications such as Manifesta Journal, frieze, Race & Class, C-Print, Ibraaz, Contemporary Art: World Currents, and Subjective atlas of Palestine.
Khalili has had solo shows at Imane Fares Gallery in Paris, Transit Gallery in Belgium, French Cultural Centres in Palestine and The Delfina Foundation in London. He has participated in group shows in Ramallah, Amman, Rome, Granada, Dubai, London, Venice, Berlin and Sharjah. Khalili’s work has been acquired by the British Museum and Sharjah Art Foundation, among others.
About EOA.PROJECTS
Born out of the global success of Edge of Arabia, EOA.PROJECTS (EOA.P) was established in 2011 as a commercial gallery platform dedicated to building artists careers to an international standard. EOA.P has since established itself as a leading platform for contemporary art with a special focus on artwork production and Middle Eastern artists. In January 2013, EOA.P opened a 400-square-meter state-of-the-art gallery in London with a programme including participation in international art fairs, collaborations and pop-up shows around the world.
Interview with the artist
Yazan Khalili will be in London and available for interviews from 5 to 12 April. For appointments and other enquiries:
Mariam M. Hassan, Gallery Manager
T +44 (0) 20 7350 1336 / mariam [at] eoaprojects.com
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For more information please visit the gallery website or the artist’s website.
