LETICIA OBEID PORTFOLIO

My work and practice is deployed in a wide area covering video, drawing, writing and installation. In video I have two production lines, broadly speaking: a near-documentary line, and another investigating certain performative qualities of writing, speech and text. In both there is a search around the tensions between image and word. In drawing, I try to tighten the boundaries between drawing and writing; and my literary production also explores a border between fiction and reality. So I think that all my work has in common a certain insistence to inhabit the borders between categories or different things and explore the translations we make between different or similar but dislocated universes. I am very interested in the way contemporary art builds and rethinks different forms of knowledge, making use of common tools, but used in unorthodox ways, without following scientific protocols or, in any case, subverting them. In these processes can coexist found objects, stories and questions about the display devices of these processes: sometimes they are books, sometimes it is the space, sometimes action itself and the traces it leaves.

B. 2008, 58 minutes https://vimeo.com/37261807 B. is a visual essay and the portrait of a process of knowledge. Using Walter Benjamin’s unfinished book “Passagenwerk” as a point of departure to explore the current state of those old passages in Paris, the video compares literature with experience, memory with perception and thus attempts to put in action some benjaminian concepts. Video made within the framework of the 2007 program of artistic residences between Buenos Aires and Paris, with the support of the Ville of Paris, Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires and the Embassy of France in Argentina.

B. stills, minidv pal, 2008.

B. stills, minidv pal, 2008.

B. stills, minidv pal, 2008.

The letter of B. Drawings, 2007/2012 While I was researching on the Arcades Project of Walter Benjamin, I started doing a series of drawings copying his handwriting, after the reproductions of his documents published by the Benjamin Archive in Berlin. In 2012 I made a new series that was shown at the exhibition The life of others, in Akbank Center, Istanbul, 2013, and in MALBA, Museum of Latinamerican Art of Buenos Aires, 2014.

The letter of B. Ink on paper, 29,7 x 21 cm , 2007/2012

View of The letter of B. in the show The life of others, in Akbank Center, Istanbul, 2013. Curator: Alejandra Labastida

Dictations 2011, 13:45 min https://vimeo.com/19461164 Password: sigloxix Filmed on a train ride from the center of Buenos Aires to the suburbs, the video documents the action of manually copying the "Letter of Jamaica" by Simon Bolivar, a document dating from 1815 and developing the Venezuelan´s political philosophy in the form a diagnosis and prognosis for Latin America. The tour shows the different urban, social and economic landscapes of the city of Buenos Aires and its suburbs, to rethink the ideas in this text and compare them to the present and to introduce the problem of translation between these ideas and practice. Being that a text in which Bolívar raises the possibility of turning the Spanish colonies into republics – a text written in the midst of the wars for Independence, a piece that is as much the result of careful observation and speculative thinking, as the movement itself, ie, is thought and action at a time - the idea for this video was to contrast the slowness of writing with the speed of travel, making manual copying text a way of foot traffic in the action, appropriating the words while the environment is changing.

Dictations 2011, 13:45 min, stills.

Bilingüe/ Bilingual 25 min, 2013 https://vimeo.com/84852298 In 2010, I was invited by a German theater director to film the making of a piece in the so called genre of “documentary theater”. The resulting video shows a series of situations related to the production of this play that was performed in Germany involving a German dancer, an Argentine singer, and three Argentine musicians from a wichi community. Considering this unique event -which takes place between Berlin and Santa Victoria Este, in the province of Salta (Argentina)- as a starting point, the video develops a series of reflections and observations about the experiences and ways in which different forms of communication and cultural translation are put into play, along with its obstacles, bridges, shortcuts and challenges.

Bilingüe/ Bilingual 25 min, 2013, stills.

Bilingüe/ Bilingual 25 min, 2013, stills.

Bilingüe/ Bilingual 25 min, 2013, stills.

Diamante Solo show Galería 713, Buenos Aires, Argentina. July 2011. Diamante (Diamond) implies a reunion with the materiality of drawing, working with the gesture, in pen and ink, and sometimes, but only sometimes, incorporating a measure of color: red, green, blue. A Diamond is a cut gemstone, with thousands of facets that reflect the light (enlightenment and knowledge). But in this case is also a memory exercise in which archaeological layers appear; a journey to the origin of images that have been dreamed, imagined, or perhaps remembered: photo stills that present us Orlando’s love affairs in the novel by Virginia Wolf, while he escapes from the 18th century to appear in the 19th. Ornaments that are transformed into women’s clothing; handwriting as a shape, as an art language. These drawings − a combination of memories and oblivion, of disorderly lines and geometric forms, of erupting volcanoes and Möbius spirals − were born from the necessity to recover concentration, the pleasure of the stroke and an intimate silence.

Diamante Galería 713, 2011, general view.

Diamante Drawings, ink and pencil on paper. 2011 21 x 14,8 cm (left) 42 x 29,7 cm (above)

Juana y Fausta 2012, 4:20 min https://vimeo.com/46180312 Clave: charla (Juana and Fausta) A hand browses the argentine edition of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë 's novel, published in a children's collection called "Robin Hood", very popular for generations of Argentineans. The gestures repeats with a book printed in Arabic, as a counterpoint between the two languages, two ways of writing and reading . The illustrations also show two types of aesthetics in female representation, intervened by a gesture that recreates the figure of the veil, trying to find out if stereotypes are in the picture or in our interpretation of it.

Juana y Fausta (Juana & Fausta) 2012, 4:20 min, stills

Doubles 2013, 10 minutes. https://vimeo.com/106059341 Password: doppelganger Doubles compiles fragments of a series of interviews with Mexican dubbing actors, whose voices are iconic for television and film seen on Latin America from the 60s onwards. These figures tell stories about their metier, while they also develop reflections on the role of the task, translation, the supposed neutrality of language, the relationship between image and sound, and identity.

Dulce Guerrero, stills

Marina Huerta, stills

Francisco Colmenero, stills

Humberto Vélez, stills

Jorge Arvizu, stills

Doubles at MUAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, UNAM), México City, April 2014. Curator: Alejandra Labastida.

Leticia El Halli Obeid 5/Dec/75, Córdoba, Argentina. Lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina www.leticiaobeid.com

Education • Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (U.N.C.), Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades, Escuela de Artes: 1995/2001. Degree obtained: Licenciada en Pintura . Awards / Residencies • Mellon Tri-College Creative Residency at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore Colleges, Pennsylvania, March-April 2015 • Residency at Casa Vecina, Mexico City, September-October 2011. • First prize: “Nuevos Narradores” contest, Centro Cultural Rojas, Buenos Aires, 2010. • Residency at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, July-September 2007. • Finalist for arteBA-Petrobrás Prize, March-May 2006. • Fundación Antorchas fellowship to continue studies in video, 2003-2004; 2004-2005. • Residency at Atlantic Center for the Arts, Miami, September-October 2001. • Participant in “Encuentros de análisis y producción de obra”, workshops for visual artists organized by the Fundación Antorchas and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 2000 – 2001.

EXHIBITIONS 2015 El canto de Jano, solo show, Galería Isla Flotante, Buenos Aires, August 2015. Entre el espíritu y la materia, Fundación Migliorisi, Asunción, Paraguay, July 2015. Curator: Marcela López sastre Soberanía del uso, Museo de Arte Moderno de Cuenca, Ecuador, September 2015. Curators: Sebastián Vidal Mackinson & Federico Baeza. Sights and sounds, Jewish Museum, New York, October 2015. Curator: Inés Katzenstein. 2015 Arte y palabra, Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina Arte y palabra, Casa Nacional del Bicentenario, Buenos Aires. Interfaces, Centro Cultural Kirchner, curators: Florencia Battiti, Fernando Farina. 2014 Lo contrario de la magia, MALBA, Buenos Aires, March-July. Curator: Lux Lindner Dobles (solo exhibition), MACRO, Rosario, March-May. Curator: Lara Marmor. Dobles (solo exhibition), Museo Caraffa, Córdoba, March-May, Curator: Lara Marmor. 2013 Dobles (solo exhibition). Espacio Cripta, Tucumán. Curator: Lara Marmor. Dobles (solo exhibition), Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Franklin Rawson de San Juan. El andar oblicuo, Centro Cultural de la Memoria Haroldo Conti, Buenos Aires. Curator: Karina Granieri. Dobles, Premio Jóvenes Curatores, ArteBA 2013. Curator: Lara Marmor. The right to the city, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Curator: Madelon Van Schie. BRAQUE PRIZE, Muntref, Museo de la Universidad Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires. The life of others, Akbank Arte Center, Estambul. Curator: Alejandra Labastida. 2012 KLEMM PRIZE, 16º Edición, Fundación Klemm, Buenos Aires, November-December. HUNGRY CITY, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, September-October. Curator: Anne Kersten. RECURSOS, Museo de la Mujer, Córdoba, September-November. ULTIMAS TENDENCIAS II – DONACIONES INTERRUMPIDAS, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, June-September. ECONOMÍA PICASSO, Museo Picasso, Barcelona. Curator: Pedro G. Romero. UN OJO, DOS OJOS, TRES OJOS, Casa Vecina, Mexico City. January 25. Curated by Fundación Uqbar. 2011 DIAMANTE (solo show) at Galería 713, Buenos Aires. June-August. Curator: Lara Marmor. 54th BIENALE DI VENEZIA. ENTRE SIEMPRE Y JAMÁS, Instituto Italo-Latinoamericano (IILA) Pavilion, Arsenale Isolotto. Curator: Alfons Hug.

LO REAL, LO REAL, LO REAL, Fondo Nacional de las Artes. Curator: Noelle Lieber PANTEÓN DE LOS HÉROES. HISTORIAS, PRÓCERES Y OTROS EN EL ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO, Curators: Isabel Plante and Sebastián Vidal Mackinson. Fundación Osde, Buenos Aires, March 31 - May 28. 2010/2011 MENOS TIEMPO QUE LUGAR, en torno al Bicentenario de la Independencia Americana. Quito, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, Medellín, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile, Belo Horizonte, Asunción, Córdoba, Guadalajara. Curator: Alfons Hug. 2009 PRIMER VIDEOENCUENTRO PROYECTISTA, Oficina Proyectista, Buenos Aires. Selected by: Eugenia Hernández. Investigacion / Infraestructura, CCEBA, Centro Cultural de España en Buenos Aires. Curator: Claudio Iglesias. LAS COMISURAS DE LA BOCA, Fundación Proa, March-May. Curators: Karina Granieri, Julia Masvernat 2008 VILLAGE PEOPLE, muestra de tres artistas en Kunstverein, Wolfsburg, Germany. Curator: Anne Kersten TRADUCCION (drawings), Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Curator: Claudia del Río. 2007 BIENAL IBEROAMERICANA DE VIDEO Y ARTE DIGITAL INQUIETA IMAGEN, MADC, Costa Rica, December PROYECTO “VIDEO CLUB”, Galería Florencia Loewenthal, Santiago de Chile. Selected by: Cristian Segura 6th BIENAL DEL MERCOSUR, Porto Alegre, muestra “Conversas” (Conversaciones). Curator: Alejandro Cesarco. Curaduría General: Gabriel Pérez Barreiro RESPLANDORES. POÉTICAS ANALÓGICAS Y DIGITALES, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Curatores: Graciela Taquini y Rodrigo Alonso THE ARGENTINEAN PROJECT: MONICA VAN ASPEREN, LUX LINDNER, LETICIA OBEID, Galerie Lilian Rodríguez, Montreal, Quebec, Canada SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, video en la Feria de Arte de Sao Paulo Art Fair 2007. Pabellón de la Bienal, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Curator: Jacopo Crivelli Visconti 2006 INTERFACES, en ESTUDIO ABIERTO 2006, organizado por el Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Palacio de Correos. Curatores: Tulio de Sagastizabal, Andres Duprat, Marcelo de la Fuente INSTANTS VIDEOS NUMERIQUES ET POETIQUES, AMERIQUE DU SUD (1) Program (Argentina) - Nature / Urbanité, La Compagnie, Marseilles, Francia PROGRAMA 05982:01, FAC (Fundación de Arte Contemporáneo), Montevideo, Uruguay, July. Selected by: Pilar Altilio

ARTEBA: Exposición del proyecto seleccionado para el premio ArteBa-Petrobrás, May 19 - 24, Pabellón Amarillo del Predio de la Rural, Buenos Aires. ARTE DE PANTALLA. Ciclo de videoarte argentino, Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires, April-May. Selected by: Pilar Altilio. 2005 MUESTRA DIALOGADA # 1, con María Inés Drangosch, en PERIFERICA, Feria de arte en el Centro Cultural Borges, B.A. Curator: Florencia Sabá. CONCURSO CULTURAL CHANDON, Museo de Bellas Artes de Tucumán. “ARTE Y NUEVAS TECNOLOGÍAS”, PREMIO MAMbA - LIMBO, Fundación Telefónica VIDEOGRAFÍAS, Fundación Telefónica. Curated by Carlos Trilnick. 2004 SOLÁ, KATZ, EL HALLI OBEID, Fundación Centro de Estudos Brasileiros, Buenos Aires. 15 + 6 + 3 - PERFIL DE ARTISTA, group exhibition at Centro Cultural de España en Buenos Aires. Curators: Ana Galardo, Tulio de Sagastizábal, Rocío Perez Armendáriz. FORMA PURA, group exhibition at Galería MOTP, Mar del Plata. 2003 DIBUJOS (solo exhibition), CEPIA (Centro experimentación, producción e investigación en Artes), Escuela de Artes, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. PANORAMA I; NUEVOS ARTISTAS, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Chateau Carreras, Córdoba 2002 PISO 6 (VIDEO-ESTUDIOS), Facultad de Arquitectura de la U.N.C., Cordoba. 2001 INDIVIDUAL, Juana de Arco, El Salvador 4762, Bs.As 23 CUADRAS, intervention at Galería Cinerama and exhibition at Casa 13, Cordoba. 1999 S/T (MUSICA) (solo exhibition), Casa 13, Córdoba. Curator: José Pizarro.

PUBLICATIONS - Preparación para el amor. Novel, Ed. Caballo Negro, Córdoba, 2015, 288 pp. -.Frente, perfil y llanura. Novel, Ed. Caballo Negro, Córdoba, 2013, 150 pp. -Se conoce que sí, short story published as e-book, Blatt & Ríos, 2012. -Los visitantes, anthology of travel memoirs, Ed. Caballo Negro, Córdoba, 2011, 215 pp. -Premio Nuevos Narradores. Second edition. Libros del Rojas, 2010.