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Taysir Batniji

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Taysir Batniji
تيسير باطنيجي
Born (1966-12-14) December 14, 1966 (age 58)
Gaza, Palestine
CitizenshipPalestinian
French (as of 2012)
EducationAn-Najah National University, École nationale supérieure d'art de Bourges [fr]
Occupation(s)Photographer, video artist, installation art, sculptor, painter
Notable workWatchtowers (2008),
To My Brother (2012–2020),
Disruptions (2015–2017)
Websitewww.taysirbatniji.com

Taysir Batniji (Arabic: تيسير باطنيجي; born 1966) is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artist, living in Paris.[1][2][3] He is known primarily as a photographer, and video artist; and in his early career he worked as an installation artist, sculptor, and painter. His work addresses issues of the psychological effects of conflict.[4][5] Batniji’s work has been shown widely in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, including at the Venice Biennale. He has lived in France since 1994.[2][4]

Early life, family and education

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Taysir Batniji was born in 1966, in Gaza.[2] He had eight siblings, and was the second to last born in the family.[6] During the first intifada in 1987, one of his brothers died due to Israeli snipers.[6] In November 2023, Batniji's family lost fifty-two members due to Israeli bombs during the Gaza war.[7]

Batniji studied fine art and painting at An-Najah National University in Nablus.[6] In 1994, he was awarded a fellowship to study at the École nationale supérieure d'art de Bourges [fr] (ENSA; English: School of Fine Arts of Bourges) in Bourges, France.[8] He obtained French nationality in 2012.[9]

Career

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Batniji’s artwork is often displaying personal history, and the ongoing conflicts in Gaza.[7][6] Gaza Diary (2001) is a short film by Batniji, which can be found online.

Batniji’s Watchtowers (2008) series feature black and white photographs of Israeli watchtowers on the West Bank.[6] Watchtowers (2008) was influenced by the 2004 Bernd and Hilla Becher retrospective at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, which displayed the Bechers' German industrial building photographs, displayed in an organized grid format.[6]

To My Brother (2012 and 2020) is a series of 60 hand carvings on paper, dedicated to his brother that died in 1987.[10] In 2012, he was awarded the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, for the To My Brother series.[3][10]

His series Disruptions (April 2015 and June 2017), consist of pixelated screenshot images taken from WhatsApp video calls during a period of violence, which are a visual reminder of our instability, fragility and the need for human connection.[7][11] The Disruptions series was published in 2024 as an art book, with all of the profits going to the British medical charity, Medical Aid for Palestinians.[11]

Batniji's artwork is in museum collections, including at the Centre Pompidou in Paris;[12] the V&A Museum in London;[13] the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar; and the Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) in Valencia, Spain.[14]

Exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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Group exhibitions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pullara, Martine (February 11, 2023). "Exposition photos: Taysir Batniji, à la rencontre des cousins gazaouis". Lyon Capitale (in French). Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Dagen, Philippe (June 14, 2023). "Au pavillon Carré de Baudouin, les « pas perdus » de Taysir Batniji". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Busby, Kate (August 11, 2014). "'A Guarantee of Emancipation': Edge of Arabia Artist Collective Plans U.S. Tour". ARTnews.com. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Unbelonging". The Baltimore Sun. October 8, 2014. pp. T38. Retrieved May 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Smyth, Diane. "Taysir Batniji commemorates pre-war Gaza via 'poor images'". 1854 Photography. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Davies, Lillian (June 1, 2021). "Taysir Batniji". Artforum. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Glen, Evie. "Taysir Batniji". Metal Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  8. ^ Amirsadeghi, Hossein; Mikdadi, Salwa; Shabout, Nada M. (2009). New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. Thames & Hudson. p. 102 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Franck-Dumas, Elisabeth. "Exposition «Quadrillage et bifurcations» de Taysir Batniji, le cœur a ses maisons". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on October 16, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Winners of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize". CNN. March 22, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Taysir Batniji's Disruptions". The Brooklyn Rail. July 29, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  12. ^ "Taysir Batniji". Centre Pompidou.
  13. ^ "Taysir Batniji (photographer)". Victoria and Albert Museum Collection.
  14. ^ "Taysir Batniji, Gaza, Estado de Palestina, 1966 – Actualidad". IVAM – Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno Centro Julio González. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  15. ^ "Taysir Batniji". Art Absolument, artists. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  16. ^ Debailleux, Henri-François (January–February 2011). "Taysir Batniji". Art Absolument (39).
  17. ^ Mengüç, Murat Cem (May 10, 2018). "Portraits of Palestinian Life in America". Hyperallergic. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  18. ^ "Taysir Batniji: Suspended Time". Canadian Art. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  19. ^ "Taysir Batniji: A Palestinian Journey". Qatar Museums.
  20. ^ Tahiri, Chama (December 10, 2022). "Taysir Batniji at the Mathaf : the ambivalence of impermanence". Diptyk Magazine (in French). Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  21. ^ Khalil, Nadine (November 23, 2022). "Taysir Batniji Magnifies the Palestinian Condition". Frieze. No. 233. ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  22. ^ Freedman, Anna (November 4, 2011). "'The Future of a Promise' at Venice Biennale". Berlin Art Link. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  23. ^ Kleinman, Adam (November 26, 2019). "The First Sharjah Architecture Triennial: Can Art Be an Applied Science?". Frieze. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  24. ^ Gómez, Edward M. (August 1, 2020). "A Triennale In Tune With Our Pandemic-Affected Moment". Hyperallergic. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  25. ^ Hindahl, Philipp (September 15, 2022). ""Still Present!" 12th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art". Flash Art. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
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