Emily Jacir. We Ate the Wind

Drawing on rituals such as dances, processions and games, Emily Jacir’s film installation for the MCBA traces how space, community and memory can be claimed.

The works of Emily Jacir draw on archival and historical research as much as subjective or biographical narratives. They unearth and lend form to histories that have been silenced, focusing mainly on exchange, translation, resistance, and movement. For her intervention in the Project Space, Emily Jacir presents a large cinematic installation comprising new and archival footage addressing questions of visibility and invisibility, proximity and distance, hospitality and exclusion, exploring specific migration policies and their consequences on individuals and communities. Drawing on rituals such as dances, processions and games, the artist charts the way space, collectivity and memories are claimed.

Based in the Mediterranean, the artist uses a wide range of media and methodologies that include film, video, photography, sculpture, installation and performance to investigate personal and collective movement through space and time. For a recent project titled Pietrapertosa (2019-2020), the artist produced a permanent circular stone sculpture for a small town in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy. The project sprang from Emily Jacir’s conversations with the inhabitants about the area’s Arab heritage, whose influence can still be seen in the town’s customs and language.

Curator of the exhibition: Nicole Schweizer, curator of contemporary art