Pipe Dreams
Ali Cherri
2011
2-channel video installation
5-minute loop
A memorable phone call between the Syrian cosmonaut Muhammed Faris (part of a Russian space mission) and the late president Hafez al-Assad. In a face-to-face between a PVM monitor and a pocket projector, the installation combines archival images, images from the current Syrian uprising and constructed images. Two moments in the history of contemporary Syria that echo the situation across all Arab countries: a memorable phone call between the Syrian cosmonaut Muhammed Faris who was part of the Russian mission to the Mir Space Station and the late president Hafez al-Assad, and the removal of the statue of Assad by the Syrian government to prevent its destruction by the demonstrators.
1976 Beirut, Lebanon. Ali Cherri is a video and visual artist. His recent work looks at the role historical objects play in the construction of national narratives. His recent exhibitions include Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning, 13th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea, The Gatekeepers, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille – Manifesta, France, Trembling Landscapes, Eye Film Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Comme un parfum d’aventure, Musée d’art Contemporain de Lyon, France. He is currently the Artist in Residence at the National Gallery in London.