SOUFIANE ABABRI: CALL ME BY THEIR NAMES

Tuesday, 11. junij, 19:00–20:30, Ravnikar Gallery Space, Prešernova cesta 10a, Ljubljana

Samostojna razstava: 11. 06.–17. 06. 2019

Exhibition opening and performance

Coproduction: Ravnikar Gallery Space and Ljubljana Pride Association

SLO, EN, FR

The personal is political is a phrase pervading the work of the artist Soufiane Ababri. Ababri takes us between the sheets and invites us to read between the lines. Under the covers we uncover a world where bodies become agents of resistance. As many of the subjects appearing in his drawings are laid bare, so too is the system in which they exist. In his seemingly naïve drawings, he addresses themes such as homosexuality, masculinity, race, violence, hierarchies and contentious relationships that exist between them. He draws inspiration from personal experience, film, pornography, political activism, sport, history of art.

It is with great honour that we present the work of Soufiane Ababri in the context of Ljubljana Pride. Pride is first and foremost an act of resistance through presence, challenging societal norms by the simple act of making oneself visible. This too is precisely the impetus of Ababri’s work. He is making visible what has in the history of representation long been hidden or exoticized. Speaking from a minority position, be it as a homosexual, an immigrant, a brown-skinned individual, he takes back the power to tell his own stories on his own terms.

In Ljubljana Soufiane Ababri will present an entirely new series of drawings commissioned by RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE. Over a period of a month spent in Ljubljana, leading up to Ljubljana Pride, he will observe and report on his experience of the city. It is only during this time that the subject matter of the new series will be revealed, but what is sure to be gained is a valuable insight during a moment in which we re-evaluate and celebrate all that makes us proud.

Soufiane Ababri se je rodil leta 1985 v Tangerju v Maroku. Po koncu šolanja na Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Artsv Montpellierju leta 2010 in na Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs v Parizu leta 2014 je Ababri razstavljal samostojno v različnih institucijah v Franciji in po svetu med drugim: Memories of a solitary cruise, The Pill Gallery, Istanbul (2019); Here is a strange and bitter crop,SPACE Mare Street Gallery, London (2018); Haunted lives, Galerie Praz-Delavallade, Paris (2018); Oh please! Don’t be angry! It’s based on emotional facts,Eternal Network Tours, Francija (2017) in What’s the name of the nation, Le Cube indépendant Art Room, Rabat (2016). Njegova dela so vključena v mnoge zasebne in javne zbirke, med drugim tudi v zbirke muzejev MAC VAL in FRAC Pointou-Charentes. Živi in dela med Parizom in Tangerjem.

Soufiane Ababri was born in 1985 in Morocco. He finished Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier in 2010 and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2014. He’s held art exhibitions in several institutions in France and around the world, including the solo exhibitions Memories of a solitary cruise, The Pill Gallery, Istanbul (2019); Here is a Strange and Bitter Crop, SPACE Mare Street Gallery, London (2018); Haunted Lives, Galerie Praz-Delavallade, Paris (2018);Oh please! Don’t be angry! It’s based on emotional facts, Eternal Network, Tours, France (2017) and What’s the name of the nation, Le Cube indépendant Art Room (2016), Rabat. His work in included in several private and public collections, including the collections of MAC VAL and FRAC Pointou-Charentes. He lives and works between Paris and Tangier.

Curator: Jure Kirbiš

Opening hours of Ravnikar Gallery Space

MON – THUR 4 – 7pm
FRI 12am – 3pm and by appointment