LAND AFTER ART
08.11.2024 - 12.01.2025
Inês Valle
Curated by Inês Valle, this exhibition marks the first solo show of artist Khaled Jarrar in Portugal and is supported by the Ministry of Culture through the DGArtes program. Khaled Jarrar, a multidisciplinary artist, uses his artistic practice to explore contemporary power struggles and their sociocultural impact on ordinary citizens through photography, sculpture, films, and symbolic performative interventions. Land After Art juxtaposes a selection of works from Jarrar's artistic journey, reflecting the comprehensive process behind this exhibition — from a 2013 sculpture of an olive tree to previously unseen photographs and a new installation piece developed this summer during an artistic residency with master potter João Lourenço in Barcelos. This synergy aims not only to transcend artistic boundaries but also to merge cultural perspectives, potentially resulting in a transformative artistic narrative. The works in this exhibition address themes such as war landscapes, which possess their own social dynamics and are also shaped by specific legal mechanisms. By tracing the history of olive trees as powerful symbols in the occupied West Bank landscape, the exhibition invites us to reflect on how the Israel-Palestine conflict manifests within the territory, blurring the lines between law and war. Through this exploration of colonization and national identity, the artworks examine how these factors intertwine with the landscape, often as a form of "natural justification," politicizing something intrinsic to nature.