Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme

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Image courtesy of MACBA

MACBA presents the first exhibition in Spain by the Palestinian artistic tandem Basel Abbas (1983, Nicosia, Cyprus) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (1983, Boston, USA). Through the poetics of sound, image, text and performance, their practice probes into collective memory to explore stories of oppression, dispossession and violence, alongside narratives of collectivity and resilience.

The heart of the exhibition is a new immersive, multi-channel audiovisual installation, created specifically for the space, which investigates different forms of spectral presences and narration through song. This piece is the result of a co-production between MACBA, Nottingham Contemporary and Kunstinstituut Melly, and it will eventually become part of the MACBA Collection. 

The work unpacks the artists’ extensive research into the songs and poems of incarcerated people. These ballads have transformed over the years from love songs to songs that express resistance and liberation, as well as a bond with the land. Songs of love become songs of resistance, and songs of resistance become songs of love. 

Along with the installation, the exhibition presents earlier works that trace the genealogy of the tandem’s multidisciplinary research and practice. 

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