APT7 Exhibition Report

Installation view of The Equity is in the Circle 2007–09 by Oraib Toukan, QAG, December 2012 opposite School students enjoying PrayWay 2012 by Slavs and Tatars, QAG, February 2013 For the first time, the APT included a major focus on contemporary art from West Asia. ‘0 – Now: Traversing West Asia’ was co‑curated by November Paynter, Associate Director of Research and Programs, SALT, Istanbul, and Russell Storer, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA, and used the motif of landscape to consider histories of migration, colonisation and trade. The project featured works by seven artists from Central Asia and the Middle East, introducing visitors to the dynamic contemporary art of a region that is so often represented through images of conflict in the media. Works in ‘0 – Now’ included Syrian–Armenian photographer Hrair Sarkissian’s images of an icy Armenia; Turkish artist Cevdet Erek’s sequence of rulers marking out personal and political chronologies; Egyptian video artist Wael Shawky’s playful recreation of the Crusades, featuring Kenyan children laying siege to a fort; and Jordanian–American artist Oraib Toukan’s imaginary real estate agency offering Middle Eastern nations for sale. Post‑Soviet Kazakhstan was explored in works by Almagul Menlibayeva and Erbossyn Meldibekov, while an installation by Eurasian collective Slavs and Tatars combined sacred and everyday forms to suggest West Asia’s long and rich history of coexistent cultures. Iranian artists Parastou Forouhar and Sara Rahbar presented exquisite works drawing on Persian calligraphy and textiles respectively, while Turkish artist Inci Eviner presented a video installation exploring the tensions between Turkey’s European and Asian identities. west asia 23 EXHIBITION