PRESS RELEASE
Hamza Halloubi - Affiliations
De Pont Museum

In the large presentation of the collection installed in phases at De Pont Museum this summer, thirty years of collecting is viewed from the vantage point of the turbulent times in which we now live. Art has the capacity to grow with the times and keeps on inviting new interpretations. In The Route is Being Recalculated – a playful reference to words spoken by a navigation system when a wrong turn is taken – the collection is thus considered on the basis of a moment when so much that was taken for granted has been shaken up. As of mid August current ‘inserts’ are being added, such as a group of eight films by the Moroccan artist Hamza Halloubi, several of which will be acquired for the collection.
In intimate and occasionally impromptu-looking video recordings, Hamza Halloubi (Tanger, 1982) involves us in his reflections on the meaning of images, on art and being an artist, and on living in exile. His work was shown at De Pont for the first time in 2015. Now on view in the wool storage rooms is a retrospective of his videos, which tread a fine line between documentary and fiction. In a few works he tells his story on the basis of a portrait, as in Studio Visit (2016) where he fondly explores the space with his camera and contemplates the context from which we judge and observe art – an issue that comes up again in the more recent Walking and Talking (2018-2019). The search for a historical figure can also symbolize a narrative about a politically charged situation, as in Un Après-midi àLarache (2015-2016). In a calm, monotone voice Halloubi effortlessly captivates us. Until there is a sudden twist and we, as viewers, are confronted with our own voyeuristic gaze and with the fact that every image, like the story, is a construct.