Naeem Mohaiemen’s Archival Practice and the Search for a Lost Film
In the Afterall Journal 47, published on 27 September 2019, Kaelen Wilson-Goldie discusses the work of Naeem Mohaiemen, an artist originally from Bangladesh now residing in Brooklyn, whose art delves into themes of lost archives and narrative. Mohaiemen produces documentary-style films that explore Bangladesh's past and the radical left movements of the 1970s. He is in search of a missing 16mm film reel by Zahir Raihan, who was killed during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. His prominent pieces include United Red Army (2011), showcased at the Sharjah Biennial, and the series The Young Man Was (2011–16). For documenta 14 (2017), he presented Two Meetings and a Funeral and Tripoli Cancelled, reflecting his engagement with various artistic influences and the complexities of recovering lost narratives.
Key facts
- Essay by Kaelen Wilson-Goldie published in Afterall Journal 47 on 27 September 2019.
- Naeem Mohaiemen is a Bangladeshi-born artist based in Brooklyn.
- His work focuses on Bangladesh's history and the radical left of the 1970s.
- He searches for a missing 16mm film reel by Zahir Raihan, hidden during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
- Raihan was a novelist and filmmaker killed during the war; the reel was never recovered.
- Mohaiemen's breakthrough film 'United Red Army (The Young Man, Part 1)' premiered at the 2011 Sharjah Biennial.
- He created 'Two Meetings and a Funeral' and 'Tripoli Cancelled' for documenta 14 in 2017.
- Mohaiemen was nominated for the Turner Prize but did not win.
- His early work 'Patriot Story' (2004) was made with the Visible Collective.
- The essay cites influences from Walid Raad, Emily Jacir, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, and the Black Audio Film Collective.
Entities
Artists
- Naeem Mohaiemen
- Zahir Raihan
- Mathieu K. Abonnenc
- Eric Baudelaire
- Joana Hadjithomas
- Khalil Joreige
- Walid Raad
- Emily Jacir
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Chris Marker
- Black Audio Film Collective
- Otolith Group
- Willie Doherty
- Mona Hatoum
- Isaac Julien
- Tacita Dean
- Yinka Shonibare
- Goshka Macuga
- Tino Sehgal
- Amar Kanwar
- Hito Steyerl
- Sarah Maldoror
- Masao Adachi
- Ma'mun al-Bunni
- Jean Genet
- Ezzedine Kalak
- Anri Sala
- Tayfun Serttaş
- Maryam Şahinyan
- Akram Zaatari
- Hashem El Madani
- DJ Spooky
- Vijay Prashad
- Steve Kurtz
- Critical Art Ensemble
- Trevor Paglen
- Laura Poitras
- Mariam Ghani
- René Gabri
- Ayreen Anastas
- Amitava Kumar
- A.G. Mahmud
- Dankesu
- Afsan Chowdhury
- Leila Shahid
- Kristine Khouri
- Rasha Salti
Institutions
- Afterall
- documenta 14
- Venice Biennale
- Turner Prize
- Sharjah Biennial
- Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona
- Haus der Kulturen der Welt
- Sursock Museum
- Tate
- Museum of Modern Art
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Visible Collective
- Atlas Group
- Fatah
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
- Japanese Red Army
- Baader-Meinhof
Locations
- Brooklyn
- Dhaka
- Bangladesh
- India
- Pakistan
- Guinea-Bissau
- Algeria
- Beirut
- Lebanon
- Yemen
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Sidon
- London
- New York
- Karachi
- Athens
- Greece
- Tripoli
- Libya
- Algiers
- Chicago
- United States
Sources
- Afterall —