Hamid el Kanbouhi

Mobiel, 2012, video installation

Mobiel is a part of Dutch Dream, a complex installation by Hamid el Kanbouhi (b. Larache, Morocco, 1976), and is being shown in the project space on the ground floor.

Within the framework of the exhibition 'Yes, We Are Open' we have asked Hamid el Kanbouhi to provide a contribution to this final exhibition of the present NIMk. NIMk is taking the opportunity presented by its approaching closure to substantively investigate the issue of 'openness' in art. Openness in form, as a theme and as a quality is the central focus of 'Yes, We Are Open'. What does a term like openness mean in art in our present time and internet society?

El Kanbouhi works with various media, including drawing, painting and performance, but for his new installation Mobiel the artist is currently using only video.

Proceeding from his own observations and experiences, El Kanbouhi takes commonplace elements from reality, transposing and incorporating them in a world he constructs. By shifting these everyday things to a different environment – the museum, in this case – El Kanbouhi creates a new context in which you, as the viewer, can begin to relate to the subject. The artist is continually seeking unfamiliar paths that provide new perspectives on these subjects, both for himself and his public.

The point of departure for the video installation Mobiel is a story that called up questions in El Kanbouhi's mind about the interrelations among culture, tradition, technology and privacy, and various social-cultural interpretations of these concepts. On the basis of these questions, the artist looked on YouTube for films of dancing Arab women. He focused on collecting videos that show women who use YouTube as a mirror and a door to a new world with different rules about privacy. Viewers are invited to immerse themselves in these worlds of reflection, and themselves reflect on reflection.

Hamid el Kanbouhi lives and works in Amsterdam. He completed his residency at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in 2011. He had a solo presentation (2012) at De Hallen, Haarlem and his work has been included in group exhibitions at De Paviljoens, Almere, Fatform, Amsterdam, the Museum Van Bommel Van Dam, Venlo, and the Centraal Museum, Utrecht, among other venues.

Open hours: Tues. - Fri.: 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. / Sat. Sun.: 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Entrance: 4,50 / students 2,50 / Museumkaart gratis

This installation and presentation was made possible in part by the Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst.