Artistic intervention by Omar Mismar from 24 September to 17 October 2022 in the exhibition "Dialogue among Guests - The Damascus Room Invites!" in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Dresden's art festival "Nordost Südwest".
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Our guest, when you visit us, you will see us as guests and you are the master of the house.
(unknown Arabic poet)
The intervention of the Beirut-based artist Omar Mismar—taking place within the project Northeast Southwest, a collaboration with artists from Lebanon, Bosnia and Poland—responds to questions of the representation of history and the present. How does the historical reception room, designed in the early 19th century in Damascus, Syria, relate to the ongoing experience of war and diaspora of people from the region today?
How can the historical Damaskuszimmer ( ~ Damascus Room) in the collection of the Museum für Völkerkunde at the Japanisches Palais become a place of simultaneity which responds to the present, instead of remaining a capsule of the past? What is the relevance and urgency of the Arabic inscriptions today, and what does it mean when the carefully restored space fills up with barricades used to protect people and cultural heritage in war zones?
The artist's questions are also the questions that the team of the Japanisches Palais asks and has planned for future work. By partly covering the walls of the Damascus Room with sandbags from September 20 to October 17, the artist, together with the team of the museum, draws attention to the extremely threatened situation of the people as well as the cultural assets in this region, and shows the contradiction between this endangerment and the museum presentation. The Arabic inscriptions adorning the room’s walls are translated and transposed onto illuminated bands, allowing a re-reading of the room implicated in the current moment. A ROOM WITHOUT A ROOF is the first artistic intervention in the Damascus Room after its complete restoration.
The intervention A Room without A Roof can be seen until 17 October 2022. Via VR glasses on site, the complete Damascus Room will continue to be virtually visible. During the duration of the installation, live speakers will be available for talks in the room at times.
