FIROUZ FARMANFARMAIAN UNVEILS AN URGENT AND UNIVERSAL MESSAGE OF UNITY AT 1-54 MARRAKECH AFRICAN ART FAIR 2020

The Persian multidisciplinary artist Firouz FarmanFarmaian has returned to Marrakech to source, create and produce his post-tribal exhibition Memorandum of the Unknown Path. The powerful site-specific installation will be integrated within the main halls of the Théâtre Royal de Marrakech during 1-54 Marrakech 2020 African art fair, starting 21 February, 2020.

Memorandum of the Unknown Path will display sculptural installations, paintings, drawings and publications stemming from cross cultural thematics such as identity, memory and exile. The exhibition’s central installation Banners of the Unbanished portrays tribal entanglements knotting Moroccan and Persian millenary cultures in a sufi-like dance of sacred fabrics and post-tribal symbols. It unveils an urgent and universal message of unity.

The exhibition will also include Talkhimt-Tadounit (World-Tent in Tamazight) a 9:58’ art film created by FarmanFarmaian freely documenting his path into the sourcing of the installation alongside sonic signatures inspired by contemporary Sub-Saharian sonorities recorded and composed by FORRM his new experimental sound platform.

Furthermore, a selection from the artist’s earlier projects such as Nomadic Displacement, Retroprojections , Summer at the Caspian or Permanence of Trace will be curated by We R The Nomads and on display at hotel Palais Aziza & Spa, in the heart of Marrakech Palmeraie, as a backdrop to the 1-54 festivities. It aims to throw a light on explorations leading to the Théâtre Royal installation

Identity in the face of change is the main theme in the art of Firouz FarmanFarmaian. Living a lifetime in exile between Paris, Marbella and Marrakech has profoundly influenced both his creative practice and individual character. "It is circumstance that ultimately shapes lives" says the artist, whose work seeks to actively engage in a dialogue with the past. As such, his compositions possess a vivacious and spontaneous energy, as well as a deeply symbolic quality, which speaks to a multiplicity of currents in politics, art and philosophy.

Memorandum of the Unknown Path I Produced by We R the Nomads Agency with the support of Magic of Persia Foundation, The Flora Family Foundation, Dr. Amir FarmanFarma, La Ville de Marrakech.