Otherlands II: Wael Shawky, Akram Zaatari

Otherlands II: Wael Shawky, Akram Zaatari has been organized to introduce the new media art in the collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA). It centers on works by artists such as Wael Shawky and Akram Zaatari, each of whom explores and reinterprets a specific historical event. The exhibition is expected to provide an opportunity to reflect on how contemporary artists engage with historical subjects and how their approaches are expressed in new media art.

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky reimagines the history and mythology of the Middle East from a contemporary perspective. Drama 1882 (2024), which is featured in this exhibition, revisits the ‘Urabi Revolution—a pivotal moment in modern Egyptian history. Lebanon-based Akram Zaatari is a co-founder of the Arab Image Foundation, a platform dedicated to the collection, preservation, and study of photographic images from around the Arab world. His work Letter to a Refusing Pilot (2013), also presented in this exhibition, engages with the visual language of photography to evoke memories of war in Lebanon.

The past and present are interwoven in the works of Shawky and Zaatari to form layered temporal and spatial landscapes where reality and fiction converge to relate compelling stories. Their theatrical compositions and immersive, stage-like installations invite viewers to experience these alternative spaces or realms as if watching a play or a film. This exhibition refers to these realms where different times, spaces, and distinctive narratives unfold in the works of Shawky and Zaatari as “otherlands.” It is hoped that visitors will encounter and explore the distinct otherlands envisioned by these two influential artists.