Resonance: Exhibition of new commissions

Featuring the echo of power made by youth, the echo of their abilities, achievements and talents, the exhibition “Resonance” at Stal Gallery brings together new works in photography, video and sculpture developed in response to a series of scores. The exhibition features newly commissioned works by Omani artists – Rawan al Mahrouqi, Safa al Balushi, Ruqaiya Mazar and Riham Noor al Zadjali – and Finnish artist Elina Brotherus. The artists worked with very short instructions based on Fluxus event scores and other written instructions for performance-oriented art from the 1950s-70s as a starting point and an external prompt. The scores included works by VALIE EXPORT, Yoko Ono and Mieko Shiomi, as well as instructions compiled in List of Art Ideas for 1st Class of CalArts, Post Studio (If They Have No Ideas of Their Own from which to Make a Piece), 1970, by the American artist and professor John Baldessari who passed away in January this year. Resonance, developed in partnership with Stal Gallery, Muscat, Oman, and supported by the British Council through the UK-Gulf exhibition programme, included an eight-month programme of production, mentoring and exchange that culminated in a two-week production residency in the rural landscapes of central and coastal Oman in December 2019. The exhibition is accompanied by a day of conversations focusing on the personal angles within artistic practice on Thursday March 5th at 3 pm at Stal Gallery. The artists will discuss the works within the exhibition and look at how these pieces are an expression of resonance between their lived experience and their practice as visual artists. The day will conclude a review of works by artists Mairéad McClean, Shona Illingworth and Andrea Luka Zimmerman, who were recently commissioned by The Wapping Project to produce new works. The latest publication by The Wapping Project – Resonance 2 – will be launched during the opening reception. Resonance 2 features new writing by Jen Calleja, Saara Turunen and Jokha al harthi, in English, Finnish and Arabic with translations by Marilyn Booth, Maria Pakkala, Daisy Vaughan and Owen F Witesman, alongside images by the five exhibiting artists. It is worth noting that The Wapping Project is a platform for the continuous development of ideas, thoughts and people. It is our investment in, and enthusiasm for, the artists that we commission that forms the backbone of the artistic programme. The Wapping Project questions and aims to redefine accepted boundaries through commissioning, nurturing and championing artistic talent. We exist to enable artists to work with unrestrained ambition. The opening reception of the exhibition will take place at Stal Gallery on 4 March, 6:30 pm. And the exhibition continues until 2 April, 2020.