Meriem Bennani's Pandemic Video Works Explore Digital Isolation and Speculative Immigration
Meriem Bennani, an artist originally from Morocco and residing in New York since 2009, produced impactful video art during the lockdown in 2020. Her Instagram series '2 Lizards' (2020), created in collaboration with filmmaker Orian Barki, showcased the desolation of Manhattan and was later acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. In March 2021, she premiered 'Guided Tour of a Spill (CAPS Interlude)' (2021) at François Ghebaly, a 16-minute video that delves into 'the CAPS,' a fictional facility for intercepted migrants. This work includes a community centered around an animated creature named 'Croco' and incorporates online content, featuring Moroccan YouTube personality Azzddin Tbakhi. A second part of her CAPS trilogy is set to debut at the Renaissance Society in January 2022.
Key facts
- Meriem Bennani created '2 Lizards' (2020) with Orian Barki during the 2020 lockdown
- The Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired the '2 Lizards' series
- 'Guided Tour of a Spill (CAPS Interlude)' debuted at François Ghebaly in Los Angeles in March 2021
- Bennani's CAPS is a fictional Atlantic island detention center for intercepted immigrants
- She collaborated with Moroccan YouTube star Azzddin Tbakhi from Agadir
- A second CAPS trilogy instalment opens at Chicago's Renaissance Society in January 2022
- 'Party on the CAPS' (2018–19) was shot in Rabat and Casablanca with friends and family
- Bennani repurposed online content from Moroccan YouTube channels and Getty footage
Entities
Artists
- Meriem Bennani
- Orian Barki
- Neïl Beloufa
- David Attenborough
- Don DeLillo
- Fatima Al Qadiri
- Cheb Hicham Sghir
- Azzddin Tbakhi
Institutions
- Museum of Modern Art
- François Ghebaly
- Renaissance Society
- Nottingham Contemporary
- ArtReview
- Getty
- Disney
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- UK
- Morocco
- Rabat
- Casablanca
- Agadir
- Atlantic Ocean
- Manhattan
- Times Square