Step into the thought-provoking works of the Palestinian artist duo Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, which fill CC’s large Hall 3 with electronic rhythms, sampled archival material, captivating imagery and system-critical and poetic texts. The exhibition “The song is the call and the land is calling” unfolds simultaneously at CC and the Glyptotek, highlighting the deep connection between cultural heritage and identity. This double exhibition presents several of the artist duo’s key works in new versions, drawing connections between stories of oppression and dreams of liberation across different countries, histories, and political contexts.

Since 2007, Basel Abbas (b. 1983) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (b. 1983) have built an internationally recognized practice across video, sound, installation, text, and performance. Through visually spectacular media installations, the artist duo stimulates both body and intellect as they renegotiate our modern landscapes of politics and poetry, past and present.

At CC, Abbas and Abou-Rahme present a new and site-specific iteration of three interconnected works: the immersive multi-channel sound and video installation May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us, the sculptural work Where the soil has been disturbed, and the textile banner piece Low cloud hum. Together, these works connect narratives of struggle and shared dreams of liberation across different lands, histories and political contexts.

May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us examines how disintegrated communities bear witness to experiences of violence, loss, displacement and forced migration through performance. Since the early 2010s, Abbas and Abou-Rahme have collected online recordings of ordinary people singing and dancing in public spaces in Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and Syria. This material is brought together in the work with new cinematic recordings from Palestine, as well as the artists’ sound compositions and poetic texts.

In its entirety, the work takes on the character of a fragmented storytelling in sound and images, where diverse stories, lived experiences, and rituals are intertwined. The common denominator for these divided communities is their efforts to resist their own erasure. Through bodily and performative actions, they lay claim to space, self, and community. As the artists dive into the endless stream of documented everyday life that is uploaded to online platforms every day, only to quickly disappear again, they insist on standing against the collective amnesia and constant erasure that characterize our digital culture. Instead, the artists encourage us to reflect on the connection between bodies that are destroyed and images that are erased. They also make us think about the conditions under which these same bodies and images can reappear.

By zooming in on the body’s fleeting expressions, such as singing or dancing, the artists ask: What power lies in documenting sound and bodily movement? How can we understand the moving body as a space for resistance and an ever-growing archive of memory?

The second part of the exhibition, which can be experienced at the Glyptotek during the same period, showcases three interconnected works from Abbas and Abou-Rahme’s research-based series And yet my mask is powerful, as well as a brand-new work created specifically based on the museum’s ancient collection.

Basel Abbas (born 1983, Cyprus) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (born 1983, USA) live and work between Ramallah, Palestine and New York. They studied in the UK in the 2000s, where they met and started their collaboration.

They have had institutional solo exhibitions at, among others, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo (2023); the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2022); Common Guild, Glasgow (2022); the Art Institute of Chicago (2021); Centraal Museum, Utrecht (2020); Kunstverein, Hamburg (2018); Art Jameel Project Space Dubai (2017); and the Institute for Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2015).

Their work has been included in major international biennials such as the Sharjah Biennial (2023, 2015); Berlin Biennale (2022); Busan Biennial (2018); Gwangju Biennale and São Paulo Biennial (both 2014), Istanbul Biennial (2013), Liverpool Biennial (2010); and Venice Biennale (2009).

As the exhibition consists of video works, the exhibition room is darkened.

The works contain elements with strong and flashing lights as well as loud sounds. This can be overwhelming for people with epilepsy and/or sensory sensitivities such as light or sound sensitivity.