Press Release YTO BARRADA A Life Full of Holes – THE STRAIT project June 26 – August 22, 2004 Opening June 26, 2004, 5 p.m.
“Even a life full of holes, a life of nothing but waiting, is better than no life at all”. Driss Ben Hamed Charhadi, A Life Full of Holes (1964) The Strait is an ongoing visual research project, initiated in 1998, which examines migration between North Africa and Europe, its transformative impact on the city of Tangier, and the representations to which it gives birth. Yto Barrada lives and works in Paris and Tangier; her dual life in these hometowns on either side of the Strait inform her films and photographs, which offer an effective and overdue antidote to the aesthetic fetishism that has long characterized Western representations of this part of the world. The exhibition at Witte de With consists of approximately 40 pictures, taken in Tangier from 1998 to 2004, and the short film The Magician (2003, 18 min.). This collection brings together these pieces for the first time. Symposium: June 26, 2004, 11 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. On the occasion of the presentation of Yto Barrada’s photographic work, Witte de With is organizing a series of debates. The discussions will address the issue of migration in contemporary Moroccan society. Participants: Yto Barrada, Sylvaine Bulle, Bouchra Khalili, Fouad Laroui, Anaïs Masson, Stefania Pandolfo, Maxence Rifflet, Nadia Tazi and Aboubakr Jamaϊ. Catherine David will chair the proceedings. The debate will be conducted in English. For further information about the exhibition and symposium please contact Witte de With or visit: www.wdw.nl. You can download some high resolution images from www.wdw.nl/persfoto/yto-barrada/. With the support of the Institut Français des Pays-Bas Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11 a.m – 6 p.m. Admission: € 2.30 (entrance to Witte de With and TENT.) Reductions: MJK / Rotterdampas € 1.10; <16 free Witte de With, center for contemporary art, Witte de Withstraat 50, 3012 BR Rotterdam tel. +31 (0)10 411 01 44, fax +31 (0)10 411 79 24, e-mail: info@wdw.nl