Ismaïl Bahri

Ismail Bahri (Tunisia, 1978) uses video, drawing, sculpture and sound, with no one specialisation. He positions himself as an observer to set up a device for capturing gestures and empirical experiments, paying attention to “what happens”. His work is interested in the meaning that emerges at the periphery of the gaze, in the presence of the surrounding world that emerges and reveals its presence.

Ismaïl Bahri’s work has been shown at the Jeu de Paume (Paris), the Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), La Criée (Rennes), La Verrière (Brussels), the Beirut Art Center (Beirut) and the Staatliche Kunsthalle (Karlsruhe). His films have been selected for festivals such as TIFF (Toronto), NYFF (New York), IFFR (Rotterdam) and FID (Marseille).

At the French Academy in Rome, Ismaïl Bahri wishes to develop a research project based on Lucretius’ De rerum natura (On the nature of things). This poem serves as a primer for sculptural, graphic and, above all, film experiences. Between investigations in the studio and investigations outside, the residency opens up a time of fermentation that is conducive to the daily observation of natural phenomena. In direct contact with the elements, the empirical methodology proposed by the poem will activate various avenues of research and fiction.

 

Photo portrait © Daniele Molajoli
Video portrait © Laurent Perreau pour l’Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis