Walid Raad, Preface to the third edition _ Version française _ Plate III

Walid Raad, one of the most influential artists from the Middle East. Raad’s work explores the experiences and representations of war through video, photography and performance. Walid Raad’s exhibition at the UMCA includes works from two of his long-term projects: The Atlas Group (1989 - 2004) and Scratching on things I could disavow (2007 – ongoing). 

The Atlas Group (1989 - 2004) was a project Raad initiated in 1989 - or so his title suggests - and concentrated on the political, social, psychological and aesthetic dimensions of the wars in Lebanon. The Atlas Group (1989 – 2004) comprises an archive of found and created documents Raad attributes to historical and imaginary characters. Raad also considers the short and long-term material and immaterial effects of the various wars that have consumed the Middle East over the past few decades. 

Since 2007, Walid Raad has been developing another project titled Scratching on things I could disavow.  His project in part engages the emergence of a new infrastructure for the arts in the Arab world (museums, galleries, foundations, histories, among others) and the implication of reclaimed artefacts in a new local context.  Walid Raad is currently collaborating with the Louvre Museum, Paris, on a project taking place over three years, which began with the opening of the Louvre’s new wing for Islamic Art and will continue to their opening a satellite of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

A fully illustrated Artist’s Book, Walkthrough, is published on the occasion of this exhibition, in collaboration with Carré d'Art - Musée d'art Contemporain de Nîmes, France, and the Museo Madre, Naples, Italy.

Walid Raad was born in Chbanieh, Lebanon, in 1967. He lives in New York and Beirut and has been Associate Professor of Art in The Cooper Union, New York, since 2002. His work has been presented at Documenta, Kassel (in 2002 and 2007), the 2000 and 2002 Whitney Biennials, the 2003 Venice Biennale, the Kitchen, New York (2006) and the Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2006). He is the recipient of the prestigious Hasselblad Award in Photography. Raad was an Assistant Professor in Video and Cultural Studies at Hampshire College in the 1990s. He is represented by Paula Cooper Gallery, NY.

The UMCA gratefully acknowledges the support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support comes from the Fine Arts Center’s Friends Residency Fund.  Special thanks are due to Paula Cooper Gallery, NY, for their support, facilitation of the exhibition, and generous sharing of information.