In 2015 Mirna Bamieh was the recipient of the first ArteEast Fellowship for this summer’s Art Omi Residency, hosted by Omi International Arts Center in Ghent, NY.
Mirna joined 28 artists from 25 different countries for five weeks, in which she created the piece: “National Waves,” a mixed media grid-like installation made up of silver flags from deformed silver pipe cleaners and cellphone paper, facing a fan that constantly alters the flags formation. This alteration is described by the artist as a “contemplation on national defeat,” in which the flags maintain their deformed posture, yet flicker obediently in a “cheering movement” dominated by an external force.
Since August, one of the new projects Mirna has been working on is: “Tutorial: How to Disappear, Become an Image, 2015”, a video piece that was conceived during her Art Omi residency and produced in Lebanon thereafter. The piece takes the form of a performative YouTube tutorial on how to disappear, in which the artist paints her body and face with green paint, effectively ‘disappearing’ into a green screen. The tutorial culminates in the substitution of the green painted artist and green screen background with mass-distributed iconic images. The artist’s disappearance into the green screen highlights the dominance of the media image over the lived reality of our present world.
“The Art Omi residency was such a unique opportunity for all of the participating artists, to devote our time exclusively to researching and developing our projects; art was not only automatically generated but also constantly discussed and questioned,” says Mirna. “It was also an amazing cultural experience to be near New York City and have the opportunity that ArteEast gave me to be away from everyday stress and routine, allowing for an ample time for inspiration and contemplation. You learn a lot when you have that opportunity to talk about your work, and exchange ideas in a dynamic creative environment, with an outstanding group of residency artists and insightful curators from all over the world. The ArteEast Residency at Art Omi escalated the development of my practice, and for that I am deeply grateful.”
