in nyc over the weekend to see wael shawky’s work at moma ps1. shawky is an egyptian artist whose film trilogy “cabaret crusades” is on exhibit for the first time in the US. it’s absolutely mind-blowing. he uses marionettes to retell the complicated history of the crusades (yes, the idea of “manipulation” is not incidental). the narrative at the base of all three films is inspired by “the crusades through arab eyes” by lebanese historian amin maalouf. the first two films employ ceramic marionettes: some are 200 year old puppets preserved in a french museum and others are replicas created by artisans in provence. the last film, “cabaret crusades: the secrets of karbala” uses stunning glass marionettes designed by shawky and rooted in african sculpture. they were fashioned by venetian glassblowers and clothed in period costumes by an italian tailor. each sculpture is unique and bizarre and arresting. their eyes blink with a delicate clink of glass. their movements are elaborate and the tableaux they create are visually beautiful and surreal. all three films are in arabic. it’s interesting to hear the franks and pope urban speak in the same language as salah ud din. they talk of damascus, aleppo, homs, jerusalem, baghdad and constantinople. the horrific violence and political intrigue from those times seems to be tragically apropos today. pls make the time to see this exhibition. wael shawky’s work is dazzling.
