The Visit

‘The Visit’ is a work in two parts.

In this large-scale-work, ‘Muse’ is projected onto a floating screen. The shimmer of heat-haze precedes the appearance of a solitary male figure pacing an empty desert landscape. The passage of time is marked by the sun and the lengthening of his shadow. His movements are repetitive and his is still walking alone as day descends into evening. Although the desert is empty except for the solitary figure, there is an incessant rushing noise on the soundtrack although it is not clear whether this is an airport runway, a motorway or some other kind of impersonal urban place.

In ‘Echo’, a multi-screen piece, a group of women discuss their feelings towards an absent, unnamed visitor. Shared histories and affinities are pieced together. The relationship between the man in the desert and the subject of their conversation is left unresolved. The women’s voices overlap each other and it is difficult to make out one narrative thread.

‘The Visit’ is a development of Al-Ani’s co-curated ‘Veil’ (2002) in that the ambiguity in ‘The Visit’ places a metaphoric veil between the works and the audience.

Jananne Al-Ani
Current Research
'The Aesthetics of Disappearance; A Land Without People', this engages with the disappearance of the body in contested and highly charged landscapes in the Middle East.

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• http://www.janannealani.net/
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