Clear Night draws on poetic, embodied processes of investigation to bring to light the complex history of colonial violence that surrounds the life and tragic death of Syrian Egyptian singer Asmahan in 1944.
Through a rendition of Asmahan's 'final' song, Kazan contends with violence framed legally as being too historic for recognition, her voice sending sound and vibrations to touch and be felt in every corner of her spaces of enquiry—from the stifling order of institutional archives to Cairo's vibrant streets.
Night becomes an alternative forum of assembly and community. It bears witness now, as then, as uncovered archival evidence highlights British government involvement in Asmahan's story.
The work channels a sensorial atmosphere of poetic recall, reflecting on the transmission of embodied knowledge and the resonance of interrupted voices across history, acknowledged or not within spaces of the law and beyond.
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation Sharjah Biennial 16: Commissioning Curator Amal Khalaf
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