Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani’s newest video work 'Appropriation takes you on a weird ride' (2019), investigates the phenomenon of the so-called 'hobby indians', an escapist movement and fringe group in the former GDR grounded in historic German enthusiasm for Native Americans, which has also been described as 'Indianthusiasm'. This fascination, especially with regard to the construction of national identity, has an impressive chronology: it begins with the first-century Germanic Cherusci chieftan Arminius and stretches to the adventure novels of Karl May and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows in the 1800's, through the ethnographic exhibitions (Völkerschauen) in zoos and circuses and founding of 'Indian clubs' at the turn of the twentieth century, onward to the appropriation of Indigenous identities by Nazi ideologists, up until the present day, when new right-wing groups have developed an unsettling identification with the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.

©the artist

La Place Art Space is pleased to announce the selected artist Mohamed Monaiseer for a month-long residency at its Barcelona premises, organized by independent guest curator Mayssa Fattouh, with the support of Athr Gallery, Jeddah.

Mohamed Monaiseer’s (b.1989, Cairo, Egypt where he lives and works) drawings, paintings and monumental sculptures resembling heritage craft, delineate mystical and transcendental concepts such as, alchemy, metaphysics and oral histories. The obsessive-like repetition observed in his works comment on the potency of a word or figure after it has been multiplied and reproduced ad nauseam. The shroud-like raw forms of fabric, canvas, and paper add to ethereal notions of parapsychology and the intricacies of human consciousness and spirit Monaiseer explores in his work. To Monaiseer, this extensive handiwork is akin to rituals, with repetitions turning into meditations. Monaiseer received his BA in Educational Art and MFA from Cairo University. He has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Beirut, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

During his stay in Barcelona, Monaiseer will be researching ongoing projects revolving around storytelling and metaphysics while using the residency as an incubator of new ideas and methodologies inspired by his surrounding context. A public presentation and conversation between Monaiseer and Fattouh will take place on November 14 at 6.30pm.

EN

Beyond the privileged collectors and the media, there are a large number of people who collect art in an engaged and altruistic manner by acquiring works that go against consensus and fashion.
They know that art reflects today's humanity, and gives us a preview for tomorrow's, which is why we should support it. To this end since 2013, Anne-France Jacquart has created LA PLACE.
LA PLACE is a non-profit art space dedicated to the support of a diverse art community in Barcelona, located in the heart of el Borne neighborhood.
La Place holds a multidisciplinary program and artist residencies, as well as individual art exhibitions for local and international artists. Its commitment to nurturing art production has spanned from new commissions to publications and performances in addition to participations in the most active contemporary art platforms of Barcelona, such as LOOP and Barcelona Gallery Weekend.

FR

Au-delà des collectionneurs privilégiés et médiatiques, il existe un grand nombre de personnes qui collectionnent l'art de manière engagée et altruiste, en soutenant des œuvres qui s'opposent au consensus et à la mode.
Elles savent que l'art reflète l'humanité d'aujourd'hui et laisse entrevoir celle de demain et qu'il faut à ce titre le soutenir. C’est dans cette démarche qu’en 2013, Anne_France créa LA PLACE
La Place est un espace créatif à but non lucratif dédiée au soutien de la diversité artistique de Barcelone, située au cœur du Borne.
La Place développe un programme multidisciplinaire, de résidences et actions ainsi que d’expositions d’artistes locaux et internationaux. Son dévouement à la production artistique s’étale sur de nouvelles commandes jusqu’à la création de publications et performances, tout en participant aux plateformes les plus actives de Barcelone, comme LOOP et Barcelona Gallery Weekend.

Past artists residencies: Sarah Bayliss, Alfonso Borragán, Nina Fischer & Maroan El Sani, Alice Etceatera ,Azusa Takeuchi, Josep Maynou, Andrès Vial, Andrea Léria, Thilleli Rahmoun, Clémentine Oomes, Nathalie Démaretz,, Marc Palau, Blénno Die Wustbrucke, Los Ninja, 8GG,, Pierre Guery , Nathalie Démaretz, Sixtine Jacquart , Annabelle Milon.