Jananne Al-Ani
Timelines
12 February to 22 May 2022
Free admission
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines, 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani. Installation view. Photo by Rob Harris.
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines (still), 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani.
Jananne Al-Ani is a London-based, Iraqi-born artist working with photography, film and video. Her practice is concerned with the power of testimony, representations of landscapes marked by conflict, and the legacy of British power and influence globally.
In Timelines, an ambitious new moving image work, Al-Ani reveals a micro landscape in the surface of a highly decorated brass tray that originated in Iraq and is now held in the V&A Collection. The tray is said to depict events on Armistice Day, 1918, in the Iraqi town of al-Hindiyyah. World War 1 biplanes fly over the river Euphrates which cuts across the centre of the tray, crowds of highly stylised Arab men and women and British soldiers in uniform are shown from a bird’s eye view on either side of the river. Using ultra close-up photographs of the engraved surface and computer animation, Al-Ani transforms the flattened perspective of the scene into a vast and varied landscape.
Alongside this visual journey, a distinctive voice emerges - the artist draws upon interviews with her mother, recalling personal experiences of growing up in Britain as the child of Irish immigrants and living in Iraq through intense social and political change. Her mother’s memories move between these contexts, creating a layered narrative where multiple timelines intersect and overlap.
Timelines is presented across a large-scale curved screen creating an immersive environment in which to encounter these stories.
Co-commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and Towner Eastbourne with Art Fund support through the Moving Image Fund for Museums.
Presented alongside Bringing to Light: Jananne Al-Ani curates the Towner Collection, 12 February to 22 May 2022.
Accessible Guide
If you are visiting the exhibition, you can download below a large print copy of the label text and a transcription for Jananne Al-Ani: Timelines.
You can also access the printed Large Print Guide and Transcript in the gallery by asking a member of staff at the exhibition entrance.
Download Large Print Guide & Transcript
Events
Talks
Tuesday 5 April 2022
In focus: Brass tray commemorating Armistice Day, Iraq
Artist Jananne Al-Ani, V&A curator Tim Stanley and art historian Sussan Babaie discussed a brass tray from Iraq that takes a central role in Jananne’s new commission Timelines and was lent from the V&A to the Towner Collection show Bringing to Light.
Tuesday 26 April 2022
In-conversation: Jananne Al-Ani, Michael Rakowitz and Rijin Sahakian
Artists Jananne Al-Ani and Michael Rakowitz and writer and arts organiser Rijin Sahakian had a conversation exploring the transnational threads linking their work and past and present Iraqi art and culture.
Saturday 7 May 2022
In-person panel discussion: Technology and conflict in Jananne Al-Ani’s artwork
Lawyer Andrea Wallace, curator Michaela Crimmin and artist Jananne Al-Ani discussed themes within Jananne’s practice including how the technology used in modern warfare impacts contested landscapes and the translation to film of museum objects using digital tools. The discussion was moderated by Towner curator Noelle Collins.
Download a transcript for the discussion here
Workshops
Saturday 12 March, Saturday 9 April and Saturday 14 May 2022
Wood Engraving Masterclasses
Emily Johns, a printmaker and painter based in Hastings led a series of masterclasses introducing wood engraving, a printmaking technique practised by Eric Ravilious – whose works were presented in Bringing to Light: Jananne Al-Ani curates the Towner Collection.
Tuesday 12 April
Telling Tales
Amy Brown (Cult Milk) led a workshop for families looking at a brass tray from Iraq, on loan from the V&A, and the accompanying video work.
Participants explored how different perspectives and experiences affect how stories are told and how they are heard, and what makes an object meaningful. They used recycled crockery as a canvas, collaborating to tell stories and turn an everyday object into a commemorative piece.
Wednesday 13 April
Making Tracks
Amy Brown (Cult Milk) led a workshop for families looking at Jananne’s aerial photography and video work exploring themes of natural and manmade landscapes and looking at the connection of our collective footprint and what we leave behind. Participants used clay to create their own micro-landscapes, looking at imprints and negative space. Using found objects and textures, they created abstract maps of imagined landscapes.
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines (still), 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani.
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines (still), 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani.
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines (still), 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani.
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines, 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani. Installation view. Photo by Rob Harris.
Jananne Al-Ani, Timelines (still), 2022, Panoramic Video Installation, 9 minutes 7 seconds. © Jananne Al-Ani.
Brass tray, Iraq, circa 1918. Victoria and Albert Museum. Bequeathed by Mr Bing.