This year, the Lebanese Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia presents A Dance with her Myth, an immersive installation by Lebanese multidisciplinary artist Mounira Al Solh. Commissioned and curated by Nada Ghandour, with Dina Bizri as an associate curator, the exhibition runs at the Arsenale (Sale d’Armi, Venice) until 24 November 2024.
Composed of 41 art pieces that include drawings, paintings, sculptures, embroideries, and video, the installation reimagines the famous myth of Europa’s abduction and offers a contemporary perspective on women’s aspirations and challenges. Inspired by Lebanon’s cultural heritage and its Phoenician roots, Al Solh pays tribute to narratives that have influenced cultures for millennia.
Al Solh challenges traditional depictions of gender roles and power dynamics. Her installation subverts the myth’s conventional portrayal of dominance by transforming the relationship between Zeus and the Phoenician princess. In the artist’s interpretation, Europa collaborates with and manipulates Zeus, symbolising female resilience and strength. Through this reimagining, Al Solh redefines gender stereotypes and advocates for a more equitable society.
Occupying 180 sqm, A Dance with Her Myth is centred around a symbolic boat representing emancipation and gender equality. The unfinished nature of the structure reflects an ongoing journey toward empowerment. Visitors are invited to explore a space where paintings and graphic works confront societal norms while masks are the symbols of conservative forces.
Al Solh’s work incorporates transposition, deviation, and distortion to challenge traditional iconography, drawing audiences into a space that blurs the line between allegory and reality. The scenography designed by architect Karim Bekdache enhances interaction between the audience and the artworks, encouraging engagement with themes of identity, resilience, and transformation.
About the artist
Mounira Al Solh (b. 1978, Beirut, Lebanon) divides her time between Beirut and Amsterdam (the Netherlands). She obtained a BFA in Painting (2001) from Lebanese University in Beirut and also studied fine arts at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. From 2007 to 2008, she was a Research Resident at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam.
Al Solh’s practice involves video, painting, drawing, text, music, embroidery, and performance. With irony and self-reflectivity at the core of her work, the artist delves into feminist issues, traces micro-history, and documents the impact of conflict and displacement. Having left her home during the Lebanese Civil Wars, Al Solh’s experiences inform her art, which explores trauma, loss, memory, and dislocation.
Al Solh has showcased her works in numerous solo and collective exhibitions, including Choreographies of the Impossible, 35th Bienal De São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil, 2023); 13 April, 13 April, 13 April (solo) (Museumsquartier Osnabrück, Germany, 2022); Interwoven Histories by Touch/Trace (ROZENSTRAAT, Amsterdam, 2021); Mounira Al Solh (Musée national Pablo Picasso, La Guerre et la Paix, Place de la Libération, Vallauris, France, 2020); Artist’s Rooms (solo) (Jameel Arts Center, Dubai, 2018); and many others.
The artist has received several accolades, such as, for example, the ABN AMRO Art Award (2023), The Derek Williams Trust Artes Mundi Purchase Prize (2023), and the Black Magic Woman Award (Amsterdam, 2007). She was also shortlisted for the Abraaj Group Art Prize (Dubai, 2015) and nominated for the Volkskrant Award (Amsterdam, 2009).
Al Solh’s art pieces are part of prestigious public collections, which include Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Madrid, Spain), Pinakothek (Munich, Germany), and Tate Modern (London), among others.
To learn more about A Dance with her Myth, please visit the official website of the Lebanese Pavilion.
You might also be interested in viewing Shifting Sands: A Battle Song by Manal AlDowayan and Sites of Memory, Sites of Amnesia by Abdullah Al Saadi.
