The Slow and the Magic: A Filmic World Between Waking and Dreaming
<p>When I first started putting this text together in my head, I thought I had the perfect lens with which to contextualize the practice of the Paris-based Lebanese visual artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri. I thought I could use a slightly twisted popular culture reference to entice you whilst exploring some of the recurring and heavier themes in Cherri’s work through a more light-hearted perspective.</p> <p>I was going to lean on the basic premise of the popular and, as far as I am aware, commercially successful Ben Stiller comedy franchise <em>Night at the Museum</em> (2026 – 2014). The films’ central idea is that things from the past, the supposedly dead and buried, can come back to life and haunt us at night. And in the case of said trilogy, which follows the classic Hollywood tropes, these encounters in the museum may initially seem scary but ultimately they can be funny and often heart-warming…</p>
Authors: Yung Ma
Artists: Ali Cherri
Part of: TextWork
ISSN: 27269949