Walid Raad, one of the most influential artists from the Middle East explores the experiences and representations of war through video, photography and performance. Walid Raad’s exhibition at the UMCA includes works from two of his long-term projects: The Atlas Group (1989 – 2004) and Scratching on things I could disavow (2007 – ongoing).

The Atlas Group (1989 – 2004) was a project Raad initiated in 1989 ─ or so his title suggests ─ and concentrated on the political, social, psychological and aesthetic dimensions of the wars in Lebanon. The Atlas Group (1989 – 2004) comprises an archive of found and created documents Raad attributes to historical and imaginary characters.

Since 2007, Walid Raad has been developing another project titled Scratching on things I could disavow. His project in part engages the emergence of a new infrastructure for the arts in the Arab world (museums, galleries, foundations, histories, among others). Moreover and by leaning on Lebanese author Jalal Toufic’s writings, and more specifically his concept of “The withdrawal of tradition past a surpassing disaster,” Raad also considers the short and long-term material and immaterial effects of the various wars that have consumed the Middle East over the past few decades.