guest projects 2019
Al-ḥarb al-ʼahliyyah as-sūriyyah
In March 2019 Tse Tse Fly Middle East was invited to hold an artists' residency in Yinka Shonibare’s East London studio as part of the renowned artist’s Guest Projects initiative. The month-long residency featured two events under the banner title Al-ḥarb al-ʼahliyyah as-sūriyyah and marked the eighth year of the Syrian Civil War. The live events intended to draw attention to the multiple layers of humanity affected by the civil war, disrupting preconceptions and kick-starting conversations about how the modern world reacts to human rights and socio-political catastrophes.
March 13 saw Tse Tse Fly Middle East present In (reaction). Founded in the Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus’ Yarmouk, (reaction) are a group of filmmakers who have produced experimental film and documentaries that explore their experiences of war, life in the camp, and dual identities as Syrian Palestinians. The In (reaction) event featured screenings of the collective’s short films followed by a live discussion with Salim Salamah, an activist and migration expert from Yarmouk, and Emir Nader, BBC Arabic journalist and member of Tse Tse Fly Middle East.
March 24 saw Tse Tse Fly Middle East present For Syria, a night of film and live experimental music performances commissioned specifically for the residency in response to themes of the Syrian Civil War. The night consisted of three separate multi-media performances from Jack Everett and Soojin Chang, George Sorour and Tse Tse Fly Middle East's Maryam Nazari.
In addition to the live elements, Tse Tse Fly Middle East used the walls of the project space as an informal gallery, displaying a selection of Tse Tse Fly Middle East artwork and documents, including posters dating back to their first events in the UAE and photographs of their live performances.