Yto Barrada

Cinémathèque de Tanger

Yto Barrada (born 1971)[1] is a Franco-Moroccan multimedia visual artist living and working in Tangier, Morocco and New York City. Barrada cofounded the Cinémathèque de Tanger in 2006, leading a group of artists and filmmakers.[2][3] Barrada also works as an artistic director for the Tangier art house movie theatre.[4] She was previously a member of the Beirut-based Arab Image Foundation.[5]

Early life and education

Barrada was born in Paris, France in 1971. Her family moved to Tangier, Morocco when she was a young girl, and Barrada claims Tangier as her hometown.[6] Her father Hamid Barrada, former political opponent of Hassan II and leader of the student left, is a journalist and her mother, Mounira Bouzid El Alami, activist and psychotherapist.[7][8] After living in Tangier for much of her life, Barrada returned to Paris to study at The University of Paris, also known as the Sorbonne, where she studied History and Political Science.[9] Shortly after graduating, Barrada studied at the International Center of Photography in New York, New York.[10]

Now married to American film director, writer, actor, and producer Sean Gullette, Barrada splits her time between New York and Morocco.[11]

Work

Barrada befriended Bettina Grossman, a reclusive artist who was a longtime resident at Hotel Chelsea. Barrada and Grossman collaborated on an exhibition called The Power of Two Suns, which was on view at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Arts Center at Governors Island in 2019.[12] Barrada is working on a catalogue raisonné of Grossman's work.[13]

Barrada's first photographic series, A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project, was a collaborative project that took place between 1999 and 2003.[14] Barrada later used this title for her book (2005). The Strait of Gibraltar appears as a theme again in Barrada's series The Sleepers, from 2006, in which she depicts subjects lying down in public spaces.[15]

Barrada has presented her work in several galleries, such as Galerie Polaris in Paris.[16] In 2006 she cofounded Cinémathèque de Tanger, North Africa's first art house cinema and film archive.

Photos, videos, and sculpture

A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project

In 1998 Barrada began a work she titled A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project, which described the static and transitory life of her hometown of Tangier.[17] Her photographs depict a city where thousands of immigrants attempt to make the illegal and perilous journey across the Strait of Gibraltar.[18] This collaborative project focuses on the asymmetries of neo-colonial relationships between North Africa and Europe[19] as well as the disillusionment of citizens wishing to leave Morocco for a different life in the North.[20]

Iris Tingitana Project

Her 2007 work, Iris Tingitana Project, showed the meeting of botanical and urban landscapes.[21] This series focuses on the disappearance of Iris flowers, found in Tangier, that symbolize resistance because they grow in even the most difficult situations. This exhibition depicts Barrada's focus on the landscape and heritage of her home within her art.[22]

Riffs

In April 2011, her solo exhibition Riffs opened at the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin (2011), and then travelled to Wiels, Brussels in September, and in Ikon Gallery, Birmingham the following June.[23] This was Barrada's first large-scale exhibition in Germany, and it constituted works from her previous shows (A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project (1998-2004) and Iris Tingitana (2007)) as well as new work. The title, Riffs, contains references to music and rhythm as well as the Rif mountains of Morocco. The exhibit contained three films, Beau Geste (2009), Playground (2010), and Hand-Me-Downs (2011), which all spoke to the ideas of riffs, resistance, strength, and memory.[24]

Album: Cinématèque Tangier

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota exhibited Album: Cinématèque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada from 21 November 2013 to 18 May 2014.[25] Here, Barrada once again showed the film Hand-Me-Downs (2011) and exhibited work depicting life in Tangier. This exhibit specifically touched on Morocco's artistic and cinematic history through commissioned vintage movie posters and Barrada's sculpture Palm Sign (2010). This exhibition was curated by Sheryl Mousley and Clara Kim.[26]

Faux Guide

In 2016, Barrada presented the exhibition Faux Guide at The Power Plant in Toronto, Ontario, depicting issues and images of post-colonial Morocco.[27] This was a solo exhibit for Barrada that dealt with ongoing fossil exploration and the natural history of Morocco along what is known as "Dinosaur Road," where the fossil industry is most prevalent. This exhibition pulled from several of Barrada's projects at the time including North African Toy Series (2015) and Untitled (Orthoceras Coca-Cola bottles) (2016).[28] Faux Guide presented viewers with ideas about how the natural world and human world are intertwined.[29]

Dye Garden

From 25 September – 22 December 2019, Barrada's exhibition Dye Garden was on display at the Neuberger Museum of Art in New York following Barrada's award of the 2019 Roy R. Neuberger Prize. This exhibition includes video, photos, sculpture, and hand-dyed textiles inspired by her background, family history, and the West's history of colonization. All of the artwork in Dye Garden relates to the geology and botany of North Africa, a topic Barrada continues to return to, process, and relate to. This exhibit was originally presented at the American Academy in Rome during Barrada's residency there, and 2019 is the first time it has been shown in the United States.[30]

Selected exhibitions

  • Yto Barrada: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nougat", organized by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, August to December 2020 (solo exhibition)[31]
  • Yto Barrada: Dye Garden - Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY - September 25 through December 22, 2019 (solo exhibition)[32]
  • How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself - The Pace Gallery, New York – 2018 (solo exhibition)[33]
  • Agadir - Barbican Centre 7 Feb 2018 – 20 May 2018 (solo exhibition)[34]
  • Tree Identification for Beginners performed with Performa 17 as a film and performance multi-media show - New York - 2017 (solo exhibition)[35]
  • Faux Guide - Pace Gallery London - 2015 (solo exhibition)[36]
  • Before Our Eyes: Other Cartographies of the Rif - MACBA, Barcelona - 2014 (group exhibition)[37]
  • Album: Cinématèque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada - Walker Art Center - 2013-2014 (solo exhibition)[38]
  • La courte échelle (ou l'échelle des voleurs) – Studio Fotokino, Marseille, 2013 (solo exhibition)[39]
  • Mobilier Urbain – The Pace Gallery, London – 2012 (solo exhibition)[40]
  • Project Space: I decided not to save the world Tate, London - 2011-12 (group exhibition)[41]
  • Riffs – Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin – 2011 (solo exhibition)[42]
  • Play – The Met, New York, NY – 2010 (solo exhibition)[43]
  • Uneven Geographies – Nottingham Contemporary – 2010 (group exhibition)[44]
  • DisOrientation II: The Rise and Fall of Arab Cities - Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Nov. 22, 2009 - Feb. 20, 2010 (group exhibition)[45]
  • Iris Tingintana Project - Galerie Polaris, Paris, France - September 29 through October 30, 2007 (solo exhibition)[46]
  • Africa Remix - Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany (and various other locations through 2006) - July 24 - Novembver 7, 2004 (group exhibition)[47]
  • A Life Full of Holes/The Strait Project - Galerie Delacroix, Tangier, Morocco (and various other locations through 2006) - April 7 through May 27, 2001 (solo exhibitions)[48]
  • Quiet as It's Kept - 2022 Whitney Biennial - 2022[49]

Books and catalogues

Yto Barrada. Moi je suis la langue et vous êtes les dents is a catalogue published by Calouste Gulbenkian in 2019 and written by curator Rita Fabiana.[50]

In 2017, Koenig Books published the limited edition A Guide to Trees for Governors and Gardeners and A Guide to Fossils for Forgers and Foreigners with the Deutsche Guggenheim.[51]

A monograph, entitled Yto Barrada, was published by JRP Ringier in 2013, with texts from Marie Muracciole, Juan Goytisolo, and a photographic essay by Jean-François Chevrier.[52]

Barrada published Riffs in 2011 with publisher Hatje Cantz as a catalogue for her work.[53]

Barrada's book, A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project, takes its title from a story by Larbi Layachi. It was published by Autograph ABP in 2005.[54]

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ "Yto Barrada, artist and art". the-artists.org. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Butts in seats: an experiment in re-creating the culture of cinema in Tangier" A lecture by Yto Barrada (2010)
  3. ^ Olga, Stefan (2013). "YTO BARRADA". Art in America. 101: 160 – via EBSCOhost.
  4. ^ "Yto Barrada: Cinémathèque de Tanger | Pace Gallery". www.pacegallery.com. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  5. ^ Carver, Antonia. "The Arab Image Foundation: The art of collecting imagery". Bidoun. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  6. ^ "English Bio". ytobarrada.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  7. ^ Toussaint, Évelyne (2013). "Yto Barrada : figures de résistance à la domestication de l'espace". Itinéraires. Littérature, Textes, Cultures (in French) (2012–3): 57–67. doi:10.4000/itineraires.949. ISSN 2100-1340.
  8. ^ "Mounira Bouzid El Alami, de la psychanalyse à l'associatif tangérois (PORTRAIT)". Al HuffPost Maghreb (in French). 7 March 2016.
  9. ^ Crawley Jackson, Amanda (Spring 2011). ""Cette poétique du politique": Political and Representational Ecologies in the Work of Yto Barrada". L'Esprit Créateur. 51 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1353/esp.2011.0007. S2CID 145244030.
  10. ^ O'Donnell Hulme, Mary (2 March 2016). "Yto Barrada". International Center of Photography. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  11. ^ Rubin, Elizabeth (June 2014). "Castle in the Sky" (PDF). Vogue. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  12. ^ Garg, Sukanya (30 November 2019). "Yto Barrada and Bettina explored responses to disaster for exhibition in New York". Stir World. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  13. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (13 November 2021). "Bettina Grossman, an Artistic Fixture at the Chelsea Hotel, Dies at 94". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  14. ^ Barrada, Yto (Winter 2004–2005). "Artist Project/A Life Full of Holes". Cabinet Magazine. No. 16. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  15. ^ Salti, Rashi (2007). "Sleepers, Magicians, Smugglers: Yto Barrada and the Other Archive of the Strait". Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry. 16 (16): 98–106. doi:10.1086/aft.16.20711663. S2CID 184423680.
  16. ^ "Yto Barrada". Galerie Polaris. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  17. ^ Tazi, Nadia (2007). "The State of the Straits". Artefall (16): 91–106. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  18. ^ Skye Sherwin (22 December 2011). "Artist of the week 169: Yto Barrada". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  19. ^ Crawley Jackson, Amanda (Spring 2011). ""Cette poétique du politique": Political and Representational Ecologies in the Work of Yto Barrada". L'Esprit Créateur. 51 (1): 53–66. doi:10.1353/esp.2011.0007. S2CID 145244030.
  20. ^ Placik, Abby (15 September 2014). "Memory Place Desire: Yto Barrada". haverford.edu. Haverford College. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  21. ^ "That Unruly, Serendipitous Show in Venice", The New York Times 15 June 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  22. ^ "Yto Barrada Iris Tingitana Oxalis". kadist.org. Kadist. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  23. ^ Olga, Stefan (2013). "YTO BARRADA". Art in America. 101: 160 – via EBSCOhost.
  24. ^ "Yto Barrada: Riffs". guggenheim.org. Guggenheim. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  25. ^ Szucs, Suzanne (January–February 2014). "ALBUM: CINÉMATHÈQUE TANGIER, A PROJECT BY YTO BARRADA". Afterimage. 41 (4): 14–19. doi:10.1525/aft.2014.41.4.18.
  26. ^ "Album: Cinematheque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada". walkerart.org. Walker Art. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  27. ^ Whyte, Murray (31 October 2016), "At the Power Plant, a souk with a point of view", Toronto Star
  28. ^ "Yto Barrada: Faux Guide". thepowerplant.org. The Power Plant. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  29. ^ Winant, Carmen (1 March 2016). "Yto Barrada: Dinosaur Road". Aperture: 110–117. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  30. ^ Neuberger Museum of Art (17 September 2019). "Yto Barrada: The Dye Garden". artswestchester.org. Arts Westerchester. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  31. ^ "Qatar Museums opens four major exhibitions". www.thepeninsulaqatar.com. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  32. ^ Neuberger Museum of Art (17 September 2019). "Yto Barrada: The Dye Garden". artswestchester.org. Arts Westerchester. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  33. ^ Wilson-Goldie, Kaelen. "Yto Barrada". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  34. ^ "Yto Barrada: Agadir | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  35. ^ "Yto Barrada: Tree Identifications for Beginners". Performa 17. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  36. ^ "Yto Barrada's Faux Guide To Open at Pace Gallery London". Artlyst. Artlyst Ltd. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  37. ^ "Before Our Eyes". MACBA. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  38. ^ "Album: Cinematheque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada". Walker Art. Walker Art Center. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  39. ^ "Yto Barrada: La Courte échelle (ou l'échelle des voleurs)". Fotokino Marseille. Fotokino. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  40. ^ "Yto Barrada Mobilier Urbain". Bidoun. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  41. ^ "Project Space: I decided not to save the world". Tate. Tate Museum. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  42. ^ Olga, Stefan (2013). "YTO BARRADA". Art in America. 101: 160 – via EBSCOhost.
  43. ^ "Yto Barrada: Lyautey Unit Blocks (Play)". Met Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  44. ^ "Uneven Geographies". Nottingham Contemporary. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  45. ^ Ackley, Brian. "Disorientation II: The Rise and Fall of Arab Cities". Bidoun. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  46. ^ "That Unruly, Serendipitous Show in Venice", The New York Times 15 June 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  47. ^ Kapferer, Roland (13 June 2005). "Africa Remix". Frieze (92). Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  48. ^ Tazi, Nadia (2007). "The State of the Straits". Artefall (16): 91–106. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  49. ^ Durón, Maximilíano (25 January 2022). "Taking the Title 'Quiet as It's Kept,' 2022 Whitney Biennial Names 63 Participating Artists". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  50. ^ "Yto Barrada. Moi je suis la langue et vous êtes les dents". Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  51. ^ Yto Barrada Guide to Trees + Guide to Fossils. The D.A.P. Catalog. Retrieved 31 October 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  52. ^ Yto Barrada. D.A.P. Catalog. Retrieved 31 October 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  53. ^ Yto Barrada: Riffs. The D.A.P. Catalog. Retrieved 31 October 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  54. ^ "A Life Full of Holes, Yto Barrada". Dashwood Books. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  55. ^ Francesca Aton (25 October 2023), $100,000 Soros Grants Go to Artists Cannupa Hanska Luger, Yto Barrada, Carolina Caycedo, and More ARTnews.
  56. ^ Armstrong, Annie (19 March 2019). "Neuberger Museum of Art Prize Goes to Yto Barrada". ARTnews. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  57. ^ "Faux départ". IFFR. International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  58. ^ "Yto Barrada Named Winner of Abraaj Group Art Prize". Art Forum. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  59. ^ "Peabody Museum Names Yto Barrada as the 2013 Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography" (PDF). Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  60. ^ "Deutsche Bank names Yto Barrada "Artist of the Year 2011"". Deutsche Bank Newsroom. Deutsche Bank Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  61. ^ "CV". ytobarrada.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  62. ^ "Yto Barrada". Barjeel Art Foundation. Retrieved 29 October 2019.