This Walid Raad retrospective features documents and scenarios that he either wishes existed or fears are already in existence. We also meet the artist himself in a comprehensive performance work. Walid Raad began his artist career in the late 1980s and has worked primarily on three major projects: The Atlas Group, Sweet Talk: Commissions, and Scratching on things I could disavow. These projects are closely linked to his experiences of growing up in Beirut during the civil war in Lebanon, moving to New York, and having an emerging career in a globally expansive art world.

Raad engages how violence affects bodies, minds, culture and tradition. In his photographs, videotapes, sculptures, texts and mixed media installations, Raad proceeds from historical events to imagine seemingly ludicrous, bizarre, and wondrous situations and documents.

The exhibition is retrospective, but not chronological. Works from Raad’s major projects are presented side by side in an unprecedented way, opening up for new approaches to his oeuvre and the themes he explores.

Walid Raad is one of the most celebrated contemporary artists. His works have been shown at documenta and the Venice Biennale, and he has had major solo exhibitions at museums all over the world. Raad’s innovative artistic practice has been widely recognised and awarded, not least for his highly unique performances, or “Walkthroughs”, as he calls them. Walid Raad was born in 1967 in Lebanon. He currently lives in Medusa, in upstate New York.

Meet the artist Walid Raad in a unique performance. The work interweaves historical, political, economic, cultural and philosophical threads into a narrative that is dizzying, imaginative, and illuminating. We recommend you to experience Walid Raad’s art at one of his walkthroughs. The performance is held on 23 occasions.

”Kicking the Dead and/or Les Louvres” is a 75-minute performance, which Raad refers to as a “walkthrough”. It accompanies the exhibition, and comprises lecture-style presentations, video screenings, and walks in the exhibition spaces. Thematically, Walid Raad concentrates on the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. His inquiry leads him to engage World War I, arts education, insurance, sweat, and the history of tall buildings.

Walid Raad will, in addition to the performance, hold five guided tours of the exhibition. The curator of the exhibition, Fredrik Liew, also gives special guided tours regularly. All guided tours and performances are listed in the calendar.