the european biennial of contemporary art
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artists

Runa Islam

1970 Dhaka, BD Lives in London, UK

THE HOUSE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO INHABIT IT, 2008 16 mm film wITH CD WILDTRACK, 6’52”

ROVERETO

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Runa Islam’s work is concerned with disrupting the conventions of cinematic language and building up new ways to read or envision narratives and situations. Islam’s new work for Manifesta 7 continues her recent experiments with the process of “writing with the camera.” The artist has taken inspiration from a graffiti text found on the wall of the building of former Peterlini: “La casa è di chi la abita” (The House Belongs to Those Who Inhabit It). The slogan is an echo of recent anarchists’ interventions, questioning the attitude of local politics towards the heritage of post-industrial architecture. In the film, the camera’s movement is engaged in “spelling out” both the text and image. What is distinct in this version is Islam’s intention to release the camera from the motion-control apparatus previously engaged and to make more gestures. This can be compared to the ‘printed’ word against this ‘hand written’ text. As such, the film bears an almost corporeal, tactile quality. The viewer is impressed by the directness of the gestures but simultaneously distanced from its conceptual, though poetic, articulation of a radical political message. The House Belongs to Those Who Inhabit It is an authentic portrait of belonging. Islam pays tribute to local alternative political movements, focused on the sovereignty of spaces and their proper use.


Location

ROVERETO

ADAM BUDAK: "PRINCIPLE HOPE"

EX PETERLINI, VIA SAVIOLI 20 – MANIFATTURA TABACCHI, P.ZZA MANIFATTURA 1 -STAZIONE FERROVIARIA, PIAZZALE ORSI, I-38068 ROVERETO, ITALY

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