Tony Chakar: ON POSSIBILITIES, UNLEARNING, UNDOING

Photo: Tony Chakar’s archive

Friday, August 26th, 11.00–13.00 
Union hall in Elektro Ljubljana

In the cacophony of political ideologies and narratives, we sometimes wonder what to believe, how to structure our world. But maybe we’re trying to find order or even »the truth« – and consequently solutions to our grave situations – on a false basis. Instead of searching for the right ideology, the right narrative, a mythology that will suit our belief system, we have to shatter everything and start from new premises. How can »the new« arise from constantly repeating »the old«? If – in this context – we think about art: perhaps it’s time we stopped thinking about it as a »mirror of society«, as the »producer of new narratives« and consider art as part of the system built on the same false grounds as everything else. Its potential lies in the denial of everything. The lecture will be allegorical, Chakar’s thought stemming from the analysis of Fairuz’s seemingly romantic song.

Tony Chakar is a Lebanese architect, artist and writer. He belongs to a generation of Lebanese artists and thinkers whose underlying themes of conflict between the current realities reflect upon the understanding how we see, how we are taught to see, and how we can unlearn what we were taught. His platform could be described as “memory as a performance practice”. His work involves ways of thinking that go beyond the traditional architectural focus, by incorporating literature, philosophy and theory.

Debate moderator after the lecture: Istvan Szakats