Researcher’s new exhibition highlights Arab diversity

PhD student Nat Muller has curated an exciting exhibition in the Netherlands that highlights the work of artists from the Arab region.

Rich diversity

Nat, an experienced curator and writer as well as a researcher, has curated Trembling Landscapes – Between Reality and Fiction for Amsterdam’s Eye Film museum.

The exhibition, which began in September and runs until Sunday 3 January 2021, borrows its title from the work of Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, which shows aerial maps from cities in the Middle East and North Africa demonstrating their political and geological fault lines.

As curator, Nat selected 11 prominent artists with from the Arab world to showcase the diversity of their artistic practice.

“For me, it was important to put together a show that shows the rich diversity of how these artists tackle landscape in their work,” Nat explains.

“All of the artists involved offer something innovative, and I was drawn to works that combine political matters with a poetic sensibility.”

Introducing work to a new audience

Trembling Landscapes has been designed to challenge and reshape views of the Arab region, drawing on a number of issues such as geography, politics and identity.

Nat hopes that the exhibition will raise awareness of the artists involved.

“Arab artists are underrepresented in the Netherlands, so I hope this exhibition will introduce the work of these prominent artists to a new audience,” she says.

“I also hope that it removes certain cultural assumptions that are still persistent, both among general audiences and institutionally.”

An experienced curator

Nat has considerable experience of curation.

Last summer, she curated an exhibition at the famous Venice Biennale, voted as one of the best of 2019 by influential industry publications.

Nat’s curation featured the work of Danish-Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour, who has also contributed to Trembling Landscapes.

Global reach

Trembling Landscapes has garnered critical acclaim, with Nat recently discussing it on BBC Arabic.

“I’m friends with Sheyma Buali, who’s a producer at BBC Arabic, and she felt the exhibition was important and produced this fantastic one-hour programme on it,” Nat explains.

“I am beyond thrilled that the content of the exhibition is shared globally with an Arabic-speaking audience."