Eric Baudelaire · Now Here Then Elsewhere

beirut art center is pleased to present now here then elsewhere, a solo exhibition by eric baudelaire.

now here then elsewhere is an exhibition of films, photographs and works on paper that revolve around the post-68 era of radicalism and the presence of the japanese red army (jra) in the palestinian camps in lebanon. the lives of fusako shigenobu, the founder and former leader of the jra, may shigenobu, fusako’s daughter with a palestinian guerilla fighter, and masao adachi, a japanese screenwriter/director and former member of the jra are at the heart of eric baudelaire’s exhibition.

the anabasis of may and fusako shigenobu, masao adachi, and 27 years without images(2011), baudelaire’s 66 minute-long film, will be shown for the first time in lebanon. the work traces the itineraries of its three protagonists on a personal and political level, framing their journeys as an anabasis, at once a wandering into the unknown, and a return to the self. voice-overs of may shigenobu and masao adachi overlay super 8 images of contemporary beirut and tokyo. the exhibition also features various documents, family photographs of fusako shigenobu, silkscreen posters, a libretto and drawings produced by adachi while in prison. together with the film, the materials explore baudelaire’s interest in the possibilities of fiction and subjectivity that can be extracted from documentary forms.

now here then elsewhere presents the occasion to produce and exhibit a new work, a sequel to the anabasis revolving around similar themes, only this time approaching them from the reverse perspective: fiction as a medium for exploring documentary and biographical terrains. over the course of twelve days, baudelaire and adachi (who is restrained in tokyo because of his involvement with the jra), will be producing enigma of memory. each morning, adachi will send parts of a script to baudelaire who will interpret them with a film crew, and direct a fictional film set in beirut. the film and the installation will be developed simultaneously, reflecting on the process of production, the distance between tokyo and beirut, and the relation between memory and fiction.

the anabasis of may and fusako shigenobu, masao adachi, and 27 years without images(2011) was produced with support from the centre national des arts plastiques, france. enigma of memory (2013) is produced with support from the audi talent awards, the fondation nationale des arts graphiques et plastiques, the cnc – dicréam, the kadist art foundation, and beirut art center.