THE ELEPHANT, THE CIRCUS OWNER AND THE CLOWNS

Bilsart presents Basim Magdy’s exhibition entitled “The Elephant, The Circus Owner And The Clowns” between January 08– February 08, 2025.

Basim Magdy’s exhibition ‘Every Subtle Gesture Casts a Shadow on The Future’ at .artSümer will be accompanied by the screening of the films ‘Crystal Ball’ and ‘The Dent’ at Bilsart.

Crystal Ball glances into the future only to find it looks just like yesterday. Light spreads in unique ways through the cracked body of Magdy’s camera, rendering time collapsing on the black-and-white images by providing infinite gradations of grey. In The Dent (2014) hypnotised by hope, an unknown city prepares to host the Olympics. Unfolding a utopian vision that is tinged with absurdity, the textual layers invite us to contemplate the values and dangers of acting against all odds. A melancholic celebration of collective belief and its persistence.

Crystal Ball (2013)

Double Super 8 film transferred to HD video, black-and-white, sound, 7 minutes.

The Dent (2014)

Super 16mm film transferred to Full HD video. 19 min. 02 sec.
(Commissioned by the Abraaj Group Art Prize 2014)

Click here for the press kit.

ABOUT BASIM MAGDY

Basim Magdy who is an artist and a filmmaker (b.1977, Assiut Egypt), lives and works between Basel and Cairo, works with multiple media including film, painting, drawing, photography, installation, sculpture, printed matter, text and sound. He is particularly interested in creating narrative structures that explore the space between reality and fiction and its influence on science, history, global culture and the dissemination of knowledge. By preferring the ambiguous over the familiar, his work goes beyond the visual and creates unknown spaces where there are more questions than answers.
His work appeared recently in solo exhibitions at Elephtheria Cultural Center, Drama; Röda Sten Konsthall, Gothenburg; .artSümer, Istanbul; König Galerie, Berlin; MuHKA, Antwerp; MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon; La Kunsthalle Mulhouse, France; MCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome; Jeu de Paume, Paris; CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux; Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Berlin; Arnolfini, Bristol; South London Gallery, London; Mathaf, Doha; Art in General, New York; and State of Concept, Athens, among others.
His work has been included in group exhibitions at MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Castello di Rivoli, Torino, New Museum Triennial, New York; La Biennale de Montréal, Montreal; MEDIACITY Seoul Biennial; 13. Istanbul Biennial; Sharjah Biennials 11 and 13. He was shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize, Kiev (2012) and won the Abraaj Art Prize, Dubai and the New: Vision Award, CPH:DOX Film Festival, Copenhagen (2014) and the Experimental Award at the Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, Portugal (2015). He was selected Deutsche Bank’s 2016 Artist of the Year (2016).
His films were screened at Tate Modern, Locarno Film Festival, New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, ICA London among others.
His work is included in the collections of MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York, Castello di Rivoli – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, National Gallery of Canada, Guggenheim Museum, New York, MCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, MoCP Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, MAXXI – Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Centre Pompidou, Foundation Louis Vuitton, FRAC Alsace, FRAC Champagne-Ardenne Reims, Sharjah Art Foundation, Mathaf: Museum of Modern Arab Art, Doha, Deutsche Bank and Arter Istanbul.