Basel Abbas i Ruanne Abou-Rahme. Presoners de l’amor. Fins al sol de la llibertat

MACBA presents the first exhibition in Spain by the artist duo of Palestinian descent Basel Abbas (1983, Nicosia, Cyprus) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (1983, Boston, USA).

Through the poetics of sound, image, text and performance, their practice delves into collective memory to explore histories of oppression, dispossession and violence, alongside those of collectivity and resilience.

The core of the exhibition is a new immersive, multi-channel audiovisual installation, created specifically for the space, which investigates various forms of spectral presence and storytelling through song.

This piece is the result of a co-production by MACBA, Nottingham Contemporary and Kunstinstituut Melly, and will form part of the MACBA Collection. The work unfolds the artists' extensive research into the songs and poems of imprisoned people.

Over the years, these ballads have evolved from love songs into chants expressing resistance and liberation, as well as a connection to the land. Love songs become songs of resistance, and songs of resistance become love songs.

Surrounding this installation are earlier works that trace the genealogy of the duo's multidisciplinary research and practice. Both artists live and work between New York and Ramallah and have been collaborating since 2007.

They have presented solo exhibitions in institutions such as Copenhagen Contemporary (2024), Astrup Fearnley Museet (2023), the Museum of Modern Art (2022), The Common Guild, Glasgow (2022), the Art Institute of Chicago (2021), Centraal Museum, Utrecht (2020), Kunstverein, Hamburg (2018), and Art Jameel Project Space, Dubai (2017).

Their work has also formed part of major international biennials such as the Sharjah Biennial (2023, 2015), the Berlin Biennale (2022), the Busan Biennale (2018), the Gwangju Biennale and the São Paulo Biennial (both in 2014), the Istanbul Biennial (2013), and the