Events
Basma al-Sharif, 'Ouroboros' (2017)
1 — 15
December
2023
online
Together as colleagues and in solidarity with Palestine, LUX Scotland, Glasgow Short Film Festival, Take One Action and CCA Glasgow present a screening of Basma al-Sharif’s ‘Ouroboros’ (2017). As we witness the devastating violence in Gaza, described by former UN Human Rights official Craig Mokhiber as a ‘text-book case of genocide’, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, their right to freedom, land, life, dignity and empathy.
The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a snake or serpent eating its own tail, variously signifying infinity and the cycle of birth and death. ‘Ouroboros’ is Basma alSharif’s first feature film – an experimental film in homage to the Gaza Strip and to the possibility of hope based on the eternal return. The film follows a man through five different landscapes, upending mass-mediated representation of trauma. A journey outside of time, marking the end as the beginning, exploring the subject of the eternal return and how we move forward when all is lost.
We encourage visitors to donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).
This online screening follows a screening of ‘Ouroboros’ at CCA, Glasgow on Thursday 30 November.
With thanks to Basma al-Sharif and Imane Farès, Paris.
Basma al-Sharif
Basma al-Sharif (b. 1983) is a Palestinian artist working in cinema and installation. She developed her practice nomadically between the Middle East, Europe, and North America and is currently based in Berlin. Her practice looks at cyclical political conflicts and confronts the legacy of colonialism through satirical, immersive, and lyrical works.
She received an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2007, was a resident of the Fondazione Antonio Ratti in 2009, and the Pavillon Neuflize OBC at the Palais de Tokyo in 2014- 15. She received a Jury prize at the Sharjah Biennial in 2009, the Visual Arts Grant from the Fundación Botín in 2010, Mophradat’s Consortium Commissions in 2018, and is currently a fellow of the Berlin Artistic Research Grant Programme for 2022 – 2023.
Al-Sharif’s major exhibitions include: the 5th edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the Ruttenberg Contemporary Photography Series for the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Mondays at MOMA, CCA Glasgow, the Whitney Biennial, Here and Elsewhere at the New Museum, Berlin Documentary Forum, and Manifesta 8. Her films have been screened in the international film festivals of Locarno, Berlin, Mar del Plata, Milan, London, Toronto, New York, Montreal, and Yamagata amongst others. Her first exhibition at Imane Farès, On Love & Other Landscapes, with Yazan Khalili, was held in 2013.
Image description: A 16mm film still shows a sketchbook held open by a stone. The pages of the sketchbook contain red pen drawings of the ouroboros – a circular snake or serpent consuming its own tail.
Closed Captions