Meriem Bennani at C L E A R I N G

Artist: Meriem Bennani

Exhibition title: Cursed Objects

Venue: C L E A R I N G, Brussels, Belgium

Date: November 10 – December 23, 2022

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and C L E A R I N G

When they turn off the tap,
Will you remember me?
Let me remind you, before you forget:

Your daily routine was to click on mine, – I was your little solemn mass
(minus the wine) –

Hello, welcome,
Make yourself comfortable,
The camera is on the table,
(Is that true, at your crotch level ? I’m an amateur, not the devil)

No matter how clean my kitchen is, You’re only here for the dirt,
It is all you’re looking for,
Domestic erotics and upskirt.

People tried to warn me
About the hatewatch spellbinder, Who dreamt of putting my head in my own meat grinder.

Because with me,
What you see isn’t what you get, She resented me for
misusing common objects.
My only power was suggestion,
And yet I could steal all the attention.

It backfired on me like a slap in the face.

21212…
One day my flip flops turned against me, became a human-fly swatter,
a giant catapult,
a call to order…

21212…
One day all of the stuff just woke up,
the coffee maker, the straw, the make up, Chasing around me like deadly insects.

21212…
Beware of cursed objects.

—Ayla Mrabet

MUSIC in the Umbrella Twist Sculpture video :
Gioachino Rossini – Petite Messe Solennelle by Orchestre de chambre de Paris Dj Travella – 21212
Bergsonist – 12 YEARS TO SAVE THE WORLD

Meriem Bennani (b. 1988 in Rabat, Morocco) lives and works in Brooklyn.

She received her BFA from Cooper Union, New York in 2012, and her MFA from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris in 2011.

Solo exhibitions of her work have been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; MoMA PS1, New York; The Kitchen, New York; Renaissance Society, Chicago; Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; Julia Stoschek, Berlin and C L E A R I N G New York and Brussels.

Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions including Fondazione Prada, Milan; Whitney Biennial, New York; Sculpture Garden—Geneva Biennale; Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement, Geneva / Turin; Shanghai Biennale; Public Art Fund, New York; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Jewish Museum, New York; Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, Ghent; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, etc.

Meriem’s solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York is on view until February 2023.

Her first public sculpture, Windy, co-commissioned by High Line Art and Audemars Piguet Contemporary, is on display at the High Line, New York.

Her work is currently featured in group exhibitions including CAPC, Bordeaux; the Munch Triennale, Munch; and Ghost2565, Bangkok.

Meriem Bennani’s work is part of the collection of the MoMA, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris; Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Julia Stoschek, Berlin; Kadist Foundation, Paris; Hartwig Art Foundation, Amsterdam; and Vega Foundation, Toronto.

Meriem Bennani, Cursed Objects, 2022, exhibition view, C L E A R I N G, Brussels

Meriem Bennani, TV JANGLE, 2022, Stainless steel, wenge wood, rubber bellows, motor, screens, plastic, HD video, color, sound, 2 min 48 sec, 90 1/2 x 70 7/8 x 65 inches, 230 x 180 x 165 cm

Meriem Bennani, REPRESSED SLAP, 2022, Steel, rubber bellows, motor, plastic, fabric 47 1/4 x 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches, 120 x 30 x 30 cm

Meriem Bennani, BROOM SLASH 1, 2022, Stainless steel, tainted foam cushions, reed, brooms, leather belts, motor, 104 3/8 x 43 1/4 x 82 5/8 inches, 265 x 110 x 210 cm

Meriem Bennani, UMBRELLA TWIST, 2022, Stainless steel, steel, translucent white plastic, motor, screens, plastic palm tree, HD video, color, sound, 5 min 2 sec, 204 3/4 x 88 5/8 x 153 1/2 inches, 520 x 225 x 390 cm

Meriem Bennani, BROOM SLASH 2, 2022, Stainless steel, tainted foam cushions, reed, brooms, leather belts, motor, polyester, 147 5/8 x 47 1/4 x 82 5/8 inches, 375 x 120 x 210 cm

Meriem Bennani, Cursed Objects, 2022, exhibition view, C L E A R I N G, Brussels

Meriem Bennani, SALAD SHAKE Hairy, 2022, Stainless steel, wenge wood, rubber bellows, dyed raphia, motor, plastic, fabric, 51 1/8 x 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, 130 x 50 x 40 cm

Meriem Bennani, SALAD SHAKE Sock, 2022, Stainless steel, painted steel, wenge wood, rubber bellows, motor, plastic, fabric, 78 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, 200 x 50 x 40 cm

Meriem Bennani, Cursed Objects, 2022, exhibition view, C L E A R I N G, Brussels

Meriem Bennani, SALAD SHAKE, 2022, Stainless steel, wenge wood, rubber bellows, motor, sprinkler, plastic, 43 1/4 x 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches, 110 x 40 x 50 cm