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The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon

Yasmine El Meleegy
30.09.2023–11.11.2023

[EN] What a pleasure it would be to sit in the theatre and experience in real life how a group of talking bees in yellow and black costumes storm a steaming laboratory made of papier-mâché, as the audience under the surrounding noise of loud buzzing and trembling begins to hope and conjure up the inevitable moment when the dragon enters the stage, only there is no stage and no audience, because the audience itself wears horse masks and marches together with the dragon across the streets towards an uncertain future. When reality resembles a science-fiction narrative, in which not only the infinity of the universe and the retrogression of time are difficult to grasp, but also the patenting of plants and colors and the rapid rhythm of extinct organisms elude one’s imagination – then potential for action may open up precisely where the boundary between the fictional and the real becomes blurred and the imagination of an alternative reality can be experienced. New myths are built on the ruins of violently induced losses, repairing the familiar in symbolic dimension and forming a battalion in which the paralysis can be cured and the threat can be met in shared, playful leadership. Welcome!

The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon stands in dialogue with the magazine Local Origins Propaganda Persistence with text contributions by Hala N. Barakat, Francesco Buscemi, Laila Gutknecht and Ismail Fayed.

[DE] Wie schön es wär, im Theater zu sitzen und real zu erleben, wie eine Gruppe sprechender Bienen in gelb-schwarzen Kostümen ein rauchendes Labor aus Papiermaché stürmen, wie das Publikum unter dem umfangenden Lärm von lautem Summen und Zittern zu hoffen beginnt und den unausweichlichen Moment heraufbeschwört, an dem der Drache die Bühne betritt, nur dass es keine Bühne gibt und auch kein Publikum, denn das Publikum selbst trägt Pferdemasken und marschiert gemeinsam mit dem Drachen über den Asphalt einer unsicheren Zukunft entgegen. Wenn die Realität einer Science-Fiction Erzählung gleicht, in der nicht mehr nur die Unendlichkeit des Universums und die Rückläufigkeit der Zeit schwer vorstellbar ist, sondern auch, dass Pflanzen und Farben patentiert werden und alle 7 Minuten ein neuer Organismus ausstirbt, dann mögen sich Handlungspotentiale genau dort eröffnen, wo die Grenze zwischen Fiktionalem und Realem verschwimmt und die Imagination einer alternativen Realität erfahrbar wird. Auf den Ruinen gewalttätig herbeigeführter Verluste werden neue Mythen gebaut, die das Vertraute in symbolischer Dimension reparieren und zu einem Bataillon formieren, in dem die Ohnmacht überwunden und der Bedrohung in gemeinsamer, spielerischer Führung begegnet werden kann. Willkommen!

The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon erscheint im Dialog mit dem Magazin Local Origins Propaganda Persistence mit Hala N. Barakat, Francesco Buscemi, Laila Gutknecht und Ismail Fayed.

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023 (closeup)

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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Future Farms (Organic), 2023, polyester, fibreglass, 2k-paint, acrylic, corn husks, EPAL-pallets, installation dimensions variable

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exhibition view, Yasmine El Meleegy, The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, For, Basel

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exhibition view, Yasmine El Meleegy, The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, For, Basel

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The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, 2023, InkJet print on transparent film, dia-projector, vegetable boxes, food grade safe pp leno bags, cushions, 80 slides, loop, installation dimensions variable

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The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, 2023, InkJet print on transparent film, dia-projector, vegetable boxes, food grade safe pp leno bags, cushions, 80 slides, loop, installation dimensions variable

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The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, 2023, InkJet print on transparent film, dia-projector, vegetable boxes, food grade safe pp leno bags, cushions, 80 slides, loop, installation dimensions variable

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The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, 2023, InkJet print on transparent film, dia-projector, vegetable boxes, food grade safe pp leno bags, cushions, 80 slides, loop, installation dimensions variable

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The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, 2023, InkJet print on transparent film, dia-projector, vegetable boxes, food grade safe pp leno bags, cushions, 80 slides, loop, installation dimensions variable

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exhibition view, Yasmine El Meleegy, The six hundred seventy-four forms and a dragon, For, Basel

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Harvest Mold, 2023, gypsum, 58 x 52 x 10 cm