Larissa Sansour is a Palestinian artist who was born in Jerusalem. She studied Fine Art in Copenhagen, London, New York and is currently based in London.
Her work is interdisciplinary, immersed in the current political dialogue and utilizes video, photography, installation, the book form and the internet. She explores the complexities of life in Palestine by drawing on pop culture and film in a cunning and often-humorous subversion of Western narratives. Her work includes references to TV comedies, spaghetti Westerns, sci-fi and horror films—genres typically associated with light entertainment. In her work she combines political commentary with a playful exploration of alternative universes in multidisciplinary projects spanning photography, video and installation.
Larissa searches for innovative ways in order to revive contemporary Palestine, offering as part of her work a reflection on the tragic absurdity of day-to day life there.
Sansour’s work has featured in the biennials of Istanbul, Busan and Liverpool. She has exhibited at venues such as Tate Modern, London; Brooklyn Museum, NYC; Centre Pompidou, Paris; LOOP, Seoul; Queen Sofia Museum, Madrid; Louisiana Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark; House of World Cultures, Berlin and MOCA, Hiroshima. Recent solo shows include Anne de Villepoix in Paris, Photographic Center in Copenhagen, Sabrina Amrani in Madrid, Kulturhuset in Stockholm and DEPO in Istanbul.
Larisaa Sansour was among eight finalists shortlisted for the photography prize for her Nation Estate project, the future Palestinian state is located in a hi-tech skyscraper large enough to house the entire Palestinian population. Each floor is named after a Palestinian city and is linked by an elevator. Conceived in the wake of the Palestinian request for nationhood at the United Nations in 2011, the work comments on the diminishing territory of the Palestinian state and how impossible it is to interconnect its cities. The piece was nominated for the 2011 Lacoste-sponsored Elysée Prize of Switzerland’s Musée de l’Elysée. However the nomination was later revoked at Lacoste’s request to disassociate itself from the political implications of the artist’s concept, a move that sparked a worldwide outcry. Shows in 2013 included her solo show at Lawrie Shabibi in Dubai, the MuCEM in Marseille, the Bluecoat in Liverpool, Harlem Studio Museum in New York, White Box in New York and the Turku Art Museum in Finland. Scheduled shows for 2014 include FACT in Liverpool, Reverse in Williamsburg, NYC, and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
Larissa Sansour
Larissa Sansour´s artwork
Source:
http://www.larissasansour.com/index.html
http://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/artist/palestine/larissa-sansour/
Further reading:
– Artist Larissa Sansour Speaks Out About Her Ejection From the Lacoste Art Prize for Being “Too Pro-Palestinian”
– French clothing firm Lacoste censors, expels Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour from prestigious contest
