Apparition

Ismaïl Bahri, Apparition, 2019

Apparition 


HD Video 
16/9 
Color
Stereo
00 : 03 : 00
2019


Filmed photograph: Image taken on the day of Tunisia’s independence (March 20, 1956). Unknown photographer. 


The past is always out of reach, yet we’re always pulled towards it. Ismaïl Bahri's poetic film plays with this paradox. We see two hands holding a photograph which is illuminated by strong light from two sides, blinding us to its contents. Only the shadows cast by the hands reveal what is hidden by the light: a crowd gathering on March 20, 1956, Tunisia's independence day. A synesthetic gesture, where seeing is enabled by touch. 

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Ismaïl Bahri, Apparition, Video still, 2019