Luc Chery
2002
Chery was involved in Al-Ma'mal's artist-in-residence program in 2002, participating in the Art Workshop program as art instructor, introducing Palestinian youth to the wide variety of materials within the context of contemporary art, particularly focusing on recycled materials and the creative possibilities available in working with such materials. The work of Chery titled, Les Habitats-Ode to the Refuge Camps, is a photographic work taken in Gaza of temporary structures, such as tents, shacks and other spaces enclosed by cloth or plastic sheeting. Parallel to Les Habitats was other work photographed in Bordeaux showing assemblages from discarded materials that Chery has put together in the course of the past years. He used old plastic, fabric, as well as furniture parts to construct small living spaces. Looking at the images of refugee camps alongside miniatures built by Chery, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between Gaza and Bordeaux. Both convey a sense of confinement to an enclosed space. It is a valuable distinction the artists sets before our eyes- that between when an object is waste and when it is priceless commodity.
The building of relationships between the object as waste, functional form, and object as a ‘beautiful’ composition is a successful attempt on Chery’s behalf to give recognition to the current Palestinian condition by conveying an empathetic picture of the nature of a people sheltered by such ‘waste’ structures through the very definition of the discarded materials.
Projects done with Al-Ma'mal - 2002 artist-in-residence -"Les Habitats" 2003 exhibition. -"Jerusalem ma ville" exhibition of completed works of trainees participating in the Luc Chery workshop at Al-Ma'mal, 2003. - contributed to the Al-Ma'mal Photography Workshops as photography instructor
images below are from the "Les Habitats" 2003 project.
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