Respiration, the Institut du Monde Arabe Museum’s “Carte Blanche” to Karen Chekerdjian
- karenchekerdjian
- May 26, 2016
- 3 min read
Karen Chekerdjian has been invited to experiment and expose her work and the Institut du Monde Arabe Museum within the framework of D.Days. Entitled “Respiration”, the exhibition will begin on May 31st and will be open through D.Days until the 27th of August, 2016.
At the Institut du Monde Arab, Karen Chekerdjian proposes a discovery of a vast collection of furniture, objects, jewellery and projections that reveal/establish the extent of her work. These works/objects/items will be displayed throughout the three floors of the museum.
“Ambiguity has always been the most apparent aspect of my work,” explains Chekerdjian. “If you ask me: What is that object? I invariably answer: Whatever you want it to be. This ambiguity is obviously the product of my environment. I live in Beirut, a city of constant contradiction, a city we cherish and detest three times in the same day. Working here is always in a temporary state of flux, in oscillation between two modalities. You have to live with the feeling that everything can transform at anytime, that we are never in control.”
Breathing is the only way to escape the evanescence of life. Without breath, there is no presence, no life. In order for her objects to have meaning, Karen Chekerdjian imbues herself with use and form.
“My objects must make obvious and impose their presence, as if they have always been part of our daily lives They appeal to the collective consciousness, allowing them to persist. I do not want my creations to become out-dated,” states Chekerdjian. “Design for me is a political and social act because it is fundamentally linked to gesture, to humans. “
Karen Chekerdjian’s intuitive work brings to life a fertile discussion with the IMA’s collection.
“The museum’s wealth is in its narration of a history of the Arab world, founded on three monotheistic religions that have coexisted for millennia. This is the story I choose to tell through the carte blanche I’ve been granted,” explains the Beiruti.
The dialogue Karen Chekerdjian establishes with the museum’s collection unfolds while walking through five separate rooms with five distinct themes that recount various open-ended stories.
The dialogue Karen Chekerdjian establishes with the museum’s collection unfolds while walking
through five separate rooms with five distinct themes that recount various open-ended stories.
TEMPORALITY: Sit and watch (5 times). The video room allows for a glimpse into Karen’s personal
universe. She recountsher Beirut in a film produced by Lana Daher on four screens, inviting visitor
to sit on four of her chairs: Elephant, Papillon, Grand Vague and Pouf that each propose a different
perspective.
ARCHETYPE : Found objects, timeless and undesigned tools, take their place in a room dedicated
to Arab myths and histories.
TRANSFORM: T hese works interrogate the distinction between sculpture and furniture. Each
individual piece is a lived experiences invoking liminality, perpetuating change and constant
mutation in a space dedicated to the sacred.
TRANSPOSE: These pieces, inspired by ancient artifacts, are the reinterpretation of insignificant
objects. Placed in the hall dedicated to sacred representations, they become precious and iconic.
TRANSCEND: Objects that are at once designed commentaries on form and gesture, social
critique and personal essays, are spread out amongst resonant cultural artefacts
A very personal perspective emerges from this exhibition
“In order to seek meaning in my work, I went on a profound search that moved beyond Middle Eastern symbolism. I wanted to get as far away as possible from my roots though I eventually realised that the distance brought me closer to the essential, to what the Orient has to say,” Chekerdjian concludes.
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