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Farah Al Qasimi, 'Um Al Dhabaab (Mother of Fog)', 2023, Two-channel video, 29m45s, Co-Produced by Sharjah Art Foundation and KADIST. Video Still courtesy of the artist and The Third Line, Dubai

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is pleased to present:

Um Al Dhabaab (Mother of Fog) (2023) and Surge (2022)

A screening of two films by Farah Al Qasimi

Thursday, January 11, 2024 | 12 pm – 3pm | The Output, Video Pool Media Arts Centre

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is excited to announce a screening of two films by artist Farah Al Qasimi in conjunction with her solo exhibition The Swarm. Join us January 11, 2024 at 12 pm for the screening of these works at The Output.

Um Al Dhabaab (Mother of Fog) addresses the myth of Al Qasimi tribe-instigated piracy in the Gulf, perpetuated by the British Empire and upheld by contemporary western academia. This narrative is contested through a fictional retelling of the 1819 siege of Al Dhayah fort and the subsequent Pax Britannica treaty that solidified Britain’s military presence in the Trucial States. Relayed across various locations and times in Ras Al Khaimah through the perspectives of an ancient jinn, the ghost of an Al Qasimi pirate, two RAK-based sisters, a Jack Sparrow Impersonator/Ship Captain, and an 1819 British naval officer, the film challenges Western-centric historiographies of the Gulf and the lingering imperialist interests at play across Asia’s modern-day trade hubs. The film also grounds this conflict of portrayal in the twenty-first century by drawing parallels to pirate-centric video games and movies in contemporary culture.

Surge is a film exploring the nature of desalination technology and its effects on marine life through the fictive narrative of a mermaid and a woman who fears the water. It is a short, essayistic film that pulls material from YouTube and TikTok and combines it with first-person storytelling.

 

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, January 11th, 2024

Time: 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Location: The Output, Video Pool Media Arts Centre, #300 – 100 Arthur Street

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85382763405?pwd=OVRnUkVVUitvZUptMFJpbWNLOGZiQT09

 

Watch Farah’s artist talk here!

Farah Al Qasimi (b. 1991, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) makes photographs, films, and music. Often working with large-scale vinyl imagery and a multiplicity of photographic prints and screens, Farah is interested in the internet and its hierarchies of information and meotion. Farah also loves the complexity of storytelling and value-building in children’s cartoons, and many of her video works include primary narrators who are anthropomorphized. She has a highly collaborative practice and has worked with hand-sewn puppets, falcons, African Land Snails, exorcists, and most recently, a Jack Sparrow impersonator.

Acknowledgements

We are on Treaty 1 Territory. Plug In ICA is located on the territories of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

Our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.

Plug In ICA extends our heartfelt gratitude to our generous donors, valued members, and dedicated volunteers. We acknowledge the sustaining support of our Director’s Circle. You all make a difference.

We would like to thank The Winnipeg Foundation for their ongoing support of Plug In ICA.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the Winnipeg Arts Council. We could not operate without their continued financial investment and lobbying efforts.

Plug In ICA relies on community support to remain free and accessible to all, and enable us to continue to present excellent programs. Please consider becoming a member of Plug In ICA and a donor at plugin.org/support or by contacting Caitlin Thomas-Dunn at caitlin@plugin.org.

For more information about our programming, contact Luther Konadu at luther@plugin.org.

For general information, please contact: info@plugin.org or call 1.204.942.1043.