BASIC TALKS ~ Bassam Al-Sabah

09/06/17
The Hugh Lane Gallery

Bassam Al-Sabah’s practice aims to convey visions of war, resistance and perseverance. His work in multi-media installation utilises video, painting and sculpture and is concerned with how the past is constantly reviewed to meet the present.

Examining the agendas and effects of children’s broadcasting in Iraq between 1970 to the present day, scenes of war and destruction are shown in parallel with fantasy and reality, the hero and the everyday, the make-believe and fact. As the juvenile fantasy breaks down into the veracity of adulthood, the links between violence, representation and preservation are deconstructed.

Al-Sabah graduated from IADT’s BA Visual Art Practice in 2016 and was awarded the RHA Graduate Studio Award. He was also shortlisted for the RDS Visual Arts Awards, curated by Alice Maher. Recently he was part of a panel discussion, chaired by Cristín Leach, in Dublin Castle as part of Cruinniú na Cásca, and was listed by Gemma Tipton in the Irish Times as an artist to watch in 2017.

BASIC TALKS is a series of informal talks with leading contemporary practitioners, taking place at The Hugh Lane on the second Friday of every month. Curated by Basic Space in partnership with The Hugh Lane, BASIC TALKS is an open platform for lectures, workshops, presentations and performances. Speakers will include artists, curators, writers and critics who will generate discourse on producing, framing and exhibiting art. BASIC TALKS is a collaboration between Basic Space and The Hugh Lane, exploring alternatives in the dissemination of contemporary art and its discourses.