Rabih Mroué

Je veux voir

Je veux voir, 2010

I could have been with any name. I could have been merely a number with no name. I could have been a persona, which exists in a work of art. I could have been entirely fictional. I could have been an image or a plot in a movie sequence, with a narrative structure. I could have been in any location at any time, if Catherine had not shouted out my name twice, Rabih!, Rabih!

Grandfather, Father, Son.

„Grandfather, Father and Son“, 2010 Dimension variable, installation including shelves, cards, manuscript, vinyl wall texts and the video „Checkmate“, 18:30 min, colour, sound, english subtitles, Edition of 5 + 1 ap

The grandfather’s biography: The grandfather (Hussein Mroué or Hussein Moroo’ ah) was born in 1907 or 1908 in Haddatha, in the south of Lebanon. His identity card mistakenly states that he was born in 1910. His father was a sheikh, who sent him to Iraq in order to study to become a sheikh himself, and eventually inherit his position. This took place in 1924. Some time later, in 1948, while continuing his studies in Iraq, Mroué met one of the founders of the Iraqi Communist Party, who offered him a copy of The Communist Manifesto. This was his first acquaintance with Marxist thought, and it opened the door to other philosophies and cultures. The Communist Manifesto acted as a catalyst, which awakened Mroué to the concepts of human and social equality, especially at the time of the socio-political crisis engendered by British policies in Iraq. This also coincided with the declaration of the state of Israel, and the suffering and deportation of the Palestinian people. Mroué took part, as a thinker and journalist and activist, in the struggle of the Iraqi people against British politics, which led to the failure of the Portsmouth agreement. A year later, in 1949, the Iraqi government kicked Mroué out of the country, and revoked his nationality and that of his family. He returned to Lebanon, became one of the most renowned Arab Marxist thinkers, and was a member of the central committee of the Lebanese Communist Party. His main center of activity revolved around thinking and writing; he wrote many books on the subjects of Arabic literature, politics, Islam, and philosophy. His last project dealt with the subject of materialistic tendencies in Islamic philosophy. He published two substantial volumes on this subject, which were considered highly controversial at the time, and caused heated debate. He was writing the third volume of this project when two Islamic fundamentalists barged into his house, went into the bedroom, and shot him with a silencer. He was in his eighties at the time. This took place on 17 February 1987, during the civil war. This was a troubled period for the country of Lebanon; the government was almost non-existent, and as a result there was no investigation into Mroué’s murder. Like all similar cases in Lebanon, it was shut down immediately, and never spoken about since then. The father’s biography: The father (Ahmad Mroué or Ahmad Morowah) was born in 1935 in Najaf, in the south of Iraq, where his father (the grandfather) was studying to become a sheikh. His identity card mistakenly states that he was born in Beirut on 5 January 1935. He returned to Lebanon in 1949, when his father was deported from Iraq. He married at the age of 21, to his cousin (the mother) who was 14 years old at the time. They immigrated to Sierra Leone (Africa), in 1956, where the father worked as a general trader. During this time, he became the father of five children. He spent his leisure time reading a great deal of books, mainly classical European literature and history. The father eventually came to the conclusion that trade was not his true vocation, and seeing that he had managed to put some money aside, decided to come back to Lebanon with his family, in 1965. He spent all the money he had saved on buying an apartment in Beirut, and enrolling at the American University of Beirut to continue his studies in Physics and Mathematics. This took place in 1967. During this time, he had two more children, including the son (the author of the short story). Mroué taught mathematics in various private and government secondary schools, and also wrote a great deal on the subject. In December 1975, he was admitted to the American University Hospital, and diagnosed with acute leukemia. He was cured after a 30-day treatment, and spent the next two years taking preventive medicine. The father retired from teaching in 1999, but went on writing nonetheless, especially on the subject of numbers and their properties. None of his articles or books was ever published. The son’s biography: The son (Rabih Mroué or Rabih Mroueh) was born in Beirut on 24 January 1967, and is presently living in one of the capital’s suburbs. His identity card mistakenly states that he was born on 21 February 1967. During the long years of the Lebanese war, Mroué found himself implicated, to varying degrees. He was a volunteer medical orderly in the war’s early stages and in 1982, during the Israeli invasion of the capital Beirut, Mroué’s vocation altered and he became in charge of a small canon “Mortar 62,” which he never used, for technical purposes. Without reading either the Party’s manifesto or its rules of enrollment, he became a member of the Lebanese Communist Party. When he did not know what to do next, he found himself in the Lebanese University pursuing studies in Theater. In 1989, for an unknown reason, he wrote a short story, which turned out to be his first and last one. It was during this period that he met and fell for one of his classmates, Lina Saneh. They flew to Cyprus to wed, as a political statement. No one seemed to notice this statement, however—not then, not later. For a year and a half, Mroué washed dishes in the kitchen of Canard Bleu, a fancy restaurant in Paris; and in this exquisite capital, he was introduced to the works of Bunuel, Godard, Pasolini, Tarkovsky, and many others. In 1993, he asked one of his friends, Ahmed K., for a job in Lebanon and was hired at Future TV; he worked there as a writer/director in the Animation Department from 1993 to 2008. In his free time, Mroué taught theater. In 1999, he delved into the world of technology and acquired his own personal e-mail address: rabihm@hotmail.com. Mroué wrote, directed, and acted in many plays, videos, films, and mixed media performances, including L’Abat-Jour and The Lift When Mroué and Catherine Deneuve first met, they were not aware that they were being filmed, and that the scene would be included in a movie. In 2010, Mroué was invited to present his first solo exhibition. He turned down the offer, stating that this was not his profession. The curator told him that this was precisely the reason why he was invited. Mroué was convinced, and agreed. Comma will be the title of his next theater/performance piece. “Grandfather, Father and Son“, 2010, wall texts (excerpt)

Noiseless
“Noiseless”, 2006-2008 video, colour, mute, 4:40 min, Edition of 5 + 1 ap
Noiseless A video installation by Rabih Mroué I have been collecting my photographs as a missing person as they have appeared in newspapers. It was not clear to me why I was doing it, but I felt somehow intrigued by the question: Where could a person disappear to, particularly in a country like Lebanon, so small, where it is said that everyone knows everyone else, where the least said on its society is that it is confessional, communitarian, tribal, and so on and so forth… It seems that no matter how well control and authority are established over this country, or any country for that matter, there are always cracks and fissures where individuals disappear into; to them, they escape, in them they elude, get lost, and sometimes even commit a crime and all this without leaving behind not a single trace. It seems to me, that in order to achieve our individuality as Lebanese citizens, there is a heavy price to pay. Such as, being kidnapped, disappearing, getting murdered, or becoming a martyr. And frankly, I'm not sure that all of these are nearly enough.

		Old House
“Old House”, 2006, Video, sound, 1:15 min, produced by Cine-Poem
	I am not telling in order to remember. On the contrary, I am doing so to make sure that I’ve forgotten. Or at least, to make sure that I’ve forgotten some things, that they were erased from my memory. When I am certain that I’ve forgotten, I attempt to remember what it is that I’ve forgotten. And while attempting to remember, I start guessing and saying: perhaps, maybe, it’s possible, it might be , probably, it can be, it looks like, it seems that, I am not sure but, etc…

I the undersigned
“I the undersigned”, 2006, 2 channel monitor screening, sound, colour, 3:52 min., Edition of 5 + 1 a.p.
	“I, the undersigned”(Titles), 2008	“I, the undersigned”(Face), 2008

I, the undersigned, Rabih Mroué, present a public and sincere apology to all of you, and to all the Lebanese people. But before I begin, I don’t wish my position to be understood as a reaction, or even an action. Since the end of the war, I have been possessed by this idea and this feeling but…   Officially, the Lebanese civil war ended in 1990, and until now, none of those responsible that are still today in positions of power, has presented an apology to the Lebanese people for what they have committed. With the exception of one person, who counts among those who lost the war, his name is A.S.. His apology was a small text he published in a newspaper in 2002. That is, around 12 years after the war ended. Almost nobody took this apology seriously. Regardless, it remains registered as the first official apology given.   Like many Lebanese citizens, I have waited for apologies from many of those responsible but in fact nothing appeared. This is why I decided to make this step and apologize for what I had committed during the civil war. And to clarify, this is not a confession; actually there is a big difference between confession and apology. I, personally, care not for confession.   Why this apology now? In fact, I hadn’t until this day gathered the necessary courage to make this step. Perhaps cowardice and fear stopped me from fulfilling this desire. Now the time has come to proclaim my apologies to you brothers and sisters, friends, comrades, companions and enemies.   Respectfully yours, Rabih Mroué

I am one of the thousands ...

My Leap into the Void

I miss the bad old days

„I miss the bad old days“, 2011 pencil on wood, glass, unique

Exhibition view, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, 2006

"Self-Portrait as a Fountain", 2006

"Leap in to the Void", 2006

"With Soul With Blood", 2003

“BIOKHRAPHIA” with Lina Saneh, 2002

“Looking for a Missing Employee”, 2003

“On Three Posters", 2004

"Three Posters", 2000

"Three Posters", 2000

"Three Posters", 2000