Orbis Tertius will take place in Paris from October 15 to 20, 2024, and will present to the public the creative accomplishments of the artist residency program established in Al Ula vines. This inaugural exhibition marks the first time a city from Saudi Arabia rich in heritage and history collaborates with the global art fair Art Basel Paris. In the context of the prominent art culture of Paris, the exhibition highlights the issues of the intermingling of myths, histories, and contemporary art, with an accent on how the past narratives and future imaginations are interlinked.
The Essence of Orbis Tertius: Reality and Fiction Intertwined.
The exhibition curated by Arnaud Morand gets its name from a short story of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges’s Orbis Tertius, first published in 1940, Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, which deals with extreme intermingling of fiction and reality. Borges’s story imagines a conspiracy of a secret society to the effect that society constructs an ‘Outer World’—an a alternate universe so real and elaborate that no one can tell it apart from, say, our world. In line with this literary device, Orbis Tertius invites viewers to cross the boundaries between the real world and one of their inventions going further. Why, focusing more on narratives, does the exhibition raise a political question? What would be the impact of such a narrative turn?
Among the twenty present-day artists whose works make the exposition Orbis Tertius, all of them participated in the AlUla Residency Program, which aims for the integration of international and regional talents with the historical, natural and cultural domains of AlUla. The artists have rewritten those narratives through their works so that myths, science and imagination come together to form visual narratives that make sense.
The exhibition consists of 43 works of original paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs and video art and seeks diverse creations in each heading. Such works, although bearing the personal touch of the artists, account for meditating over broader and deeper thoughts on humanity’s past, present, and future canvassed in relation to nature within time and space.
A Platform for Artistic Experimentation: The AlUla Residency Program
Since 2021, when the AlUla artist residency program started, it has been providing an active space where artists are able to define their artistry in the context of over 200000 years of human history. The past of AlUla, intertwined with a vision of the city of the future, is a perfect area for artistic activities. The residency program is ideally set up within the lush palm trees of the towns at Mabiti AlUla and the newly developed arts district AlJadidah. Such surroundings enable the artist to reimagine and redefine the conception and practice of contemporary art in a volatile environment.
One of the program’s predominant parameters is the fusion of the artistic process and research. The participants are not restricted by conventional practices but are inspired to use what they can find—nature, relics, and even local cultures in the case of AlUla—to create something that goes beyond the limits. This brings about a great interaction of art and science composition and narration, enabling the artist to recreate their environment as well as the questions of identity, culture, and the world’s direction.
AlUla: A Commemoration of Antiquity and Future Outcomes
The oasis city of AlUla in the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia has archeological sites and sophisticated city planning at its best. Boasting towering sandstone mountains and ancient ruins, which even include the World Heritage Site of Hegra, AlUla is an intersection of different historical times and cultures. It used to be occupied by the Nabataeans and Lihyans, and its territory is occupied with cemeteries, writings, and buildings that depict the lives of human beings for thousands of years. The artists that were in residence for the program were able to harness the history and sought both the tangible and the intangible benefits of this heritage.
In Orbis Tertius, term is where the magic at the word bridges the gap of time between the past and the future. Combining enthralling stories with those of science fiction enables them to forge new- belief systems that seek to answer topical issues, especially in terms of ecosystems, technocracy escorting, and adopting new ideas in society. For instance, certain works of art illustrate rock art in the present context and its linkage to new technologies. Others study the influence of modern-day codes of conduct and images upon ancient practices and rituals.
This collapse of time is the other predominant theme of Orbis Tertius. The exhibition pushes the audience to consider the malleability of time, in which the past continuously entertains of the future possibilities. As a result, the exhibition deals as much with the heritage of AlUla as the potential that is in tomorrow.
Featured artists: A Global Dialogue
The list of participating artists in Orbis Tertius is a great anomaly for the internationalism that characterizes the AlUla residency program. Abdal Musa and Al Jazeera Chotiyaputta are artists among others from other countries, some of whose works range from creative expressions to visual advertisements that are shown in the exhibition. Each artist is completely different from the other; however, everyone has experienced life in the changing AlUla region, and they all focus on how they met the place.
For instance, they have lived in the UAE and AlUla, and themes of identity and cultural memories are reflected in the works of one of the authors, Maitha Abdalla. Known for a fascinating concoction of modernism and antiquity, Monira Al Qadiri’s works often include themes of science fiction and mythology. The same can be said about the works of Talin Hazbar, whose monuvianicia applies what is almost aligned with organic and geomorphism as using geological and landscape elements.
Taken together, these artists respond to the same question: What is AlUla to them? The continent and discipline do not matter because they share a common experience of the residency and actively interact with AlUla.
Curatorial Vision: Changing the Paradigms of Knowledge
Credentialing Morand Arnaud Kentin Isaac stands not for only displaying the artworks but for understanding how the art of storytelling can be made to build the frameworks of knowledge and reality. The reference to Borges in the exhibition points in this direction, as in the famous narrative of Borges’ writings, fiction can become a substitute for, or even create, dystopian reality. As part of the broader activities at OCI, M. Morand and his curatorial associates Marilou Thiebault and Ali AlGhazzawi engaged the artists in the making of the exhibition, which presents their work but takes the audience a step further by urging them to examine the narratives perpetuated about the world.
Through the medium of Orbis Tertius, Morand seeks to erase the distinctions between art and science, reality and fiction, and every other line that needs some artistic tradition to be crossed. It defines itself as one in which the artists are the narrators and their work is to focus on accepted norms and invade them with new visions. In doing so, Orbis Tertius communicates the words of many, but more importantly of Borges, who embodied in his works all the philosophical interpretation of reality and boundaries that imagination can stretch.
Engaging Events and Talks
On top of the exhibit works, Orbis Tertius will include a range of activities. More specific discussions include the exhibition topics, what is presented in the exhibition, the significance of contemporary art to history revising, and where art practice is heading in this fast-changing reality. The talks will take place on 15th and 17th October at 09:00 AM in the exhibition area and on 18th October at 1:30 PM as part of Asia Now.
Towards the Advancement of Modern Art
While AlUla aims to become a crossroads of culture, Orbis Tertius would be a harbinger of contemporary art as practiced in the future. The residency, which is a blend of artistic liberty, scientific engagement and culture, is an essential part of AlUla’s daring plan for the twenty-first century. Those works bear out that the program aims to enhance creativity that is based on the place and its history but is not shy of its future.
This exhibition, which convenes audiences of various artistic artists’ languages from all over the globe, isn’t an exception either. It tells about the power of association, imagination and narrative. They extend the east of the United States as all the artists examine the myths and truths of AlUla, making their own contribution towards contemporary art.
Orbis Tertius is an exhibition; it is information that provokes the re-imagination of realities that are, were and may be. Art in this sense becomes an instrument of altering our perception of reality.
The Orbis Tertius exhibition extends the opportunity to both art lovers and the general audience in welcoming innovation in contemporary art that connects history with the future and imagination with reality. Given the remarkable list of artists, creative and challenging pillars of the exhibition, and the phenomenal city of Paris, this exhibition is guaranteed to shift the boundaries of art in the world in the year 2024.
All Artists
MAITHA ABDALLA
MOHAMMAD ALFARAJ
MONIRA AL QADIRI
DANIAH ALSALEH
MARLON DE AZAMBUJA
GRÉGORY CHATONSKY
SALOMÉ CHATRIOT
SARA FAVRIAU
TALIN HAZBAR
M’HAMMED KILITO
SABINE MIRLESSE
LEO ORTA
LOUIS-CYPRIEN RIALS
ANHAR SALEM
HUGO SERVANIN
SOFIANE SI MERABET
AICHA SNOUSSI
ITTAH YODA
AYMAN ZEDANI
Opening on October 14th,
5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Talks on October 15th and 17th
in the exhibition at 9:00 am and on October 18th at Asia
Now at 01:30 pm
Orbis Tertius exhibition
October 15th to 20th, 2024 11:00 am to 8:00 pm
5, rue Saint-Merri
75004 Paris
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