"OOO ORIGIN OF ORIGINS"

MURIEL AHMARANI JAOUICH

CURATED BY RAD HOURANI

JUNE 3RD TO 25TH 2021

THIS EXHIBITION FEATURES THE WORK OF MURIEL AHMARANI JAOUICH ALONGSIDE CHANTAL KHOURY, JOYCE JOUMAA, MANEL BENCHABANE, RIHAB ESSAYH AND SUNDUS ABDUL HADI. WORKS BY THESE ARTISTS WILL INTERACT WITH THE PAINTINGS OF MURIEL MURIEL AHMARANI JAOUICH. THIS EXHIBITION AIMS TO PROVOKE DIALOGUE AND BREAK APART PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF IDENTITY. ONE'S ORIGIN STEMS FROM AN ENTANGLEMENT THAT GOES BEYOND WHAT IS LEGIBLE. WHILE THE SHOW RECOGNIZES OVERLAPS AND NUANCES EVEN THROUGH THE AUTONOMY OF THESE WHOLE AND UNIQUE IDENTITIES, IT OVERCOMES WHAT HAS BEEN COMMONLY STRIPPED AWAY BY MEANS OF COLONIALISM AND CULTURAL SHIFTS.

In my work, I like to create a narrative based on my family history. 
A story of diaspora, assimilation, immigration, and genocide.
 
My maternal grandparents are survivors of the Armenian genocide of 1915-1923. The perpetrators of this genocide were the Ottoman Empire ordered by the Young Turks.
My maternal grandparents were born in Mardin, Turkey, and immigrated to Egypt, Lebanon and finally to Quebec. They met in Alexandria, Egypt.
My mother was born in Alexandria, lived in Lebanon and is of Iraqi Armenian origin.
 
My paternal ancestors left DeirEl Kamar in Lebanon due to the massacres of the Ottoman Empire and immigrated to Alexandria in Egypt.
My father was born in Alexandria and is of Lebanese origin.
My parents immigrated separately to Montreal, Quebec in 1964 and 1966.
 
My research is based on oral histories, photographic archives, and objects that my immediate and extended family bequeath to me. 
I realize that I am becoming a receptacle.
I transform this knowledge and create narratives using my memory and imagination.
 
What I like is that when stories and memories are subjected to time, the narratives become blurred, on the edge between reality and fiction. I like to work with this ambiguity. 
My images serve as metaphors for the impact of intergenerational trauma.
 
I feel a duty to remember, a duty to know.
This inspires me to create a new narrative that speaks to our survival and resilience.

MURIEL AHMARANI JAOUICH