Adrian Schindler

Using a collaborative experimental methodology, Tetuan, Tetuán, تطوان explores the traces that Spain’s colonial past in Morocco has left on Spanish society. It examines the cultural production, public space and the collective imaginary through the prism of a ghost, understood as the echo of silenced voices and historical events.

Developed in three cities, in dialogue with cultural agents in Morocco and Spain, the project explores narrative strategies to give new meaning to such places as Tetuan Square in Barcelona, the Tetuán de las Victorias neighbourhood in Madrid or the ‘Español’ cinema in the city of تطوان in Morocco, among others. Through readings, conversations and fictional scenes recorded at monuments and in cafés and museums, it sustains the idea that orality can challenge hegemonic discourses and contribute to the emergence of other imaginaries. Focusing on the implication of representation in power relations and on the continuity of Orientalist and colonial iconography, particularly in current audiovisual production, the film gives rise to a critical reflection on the distribution of roles and its own mechanisms. 

During the course of the residency, the second chapter of the trilogy, which is dedicated to Madrid, will be developed through a series of public activities and exercises with collaborators, which will take place both at Matadero Madrid and in other spaces in the city.

BIO

Adrian Schindler (France/Germany, 1989) has lived in Spain since 2014. In his practice he addresses the link between historical events, cultural production and state ideology, with specific emphasis on their impact on subjectivities.

Often collaborative in nature, it takes the form of performance art pieces, films, installations and public encounters. His work has been presented at MACBA (2021), The Green Parrot, Barcelona (2021), Espositivo, Madrid (2021), Fabra i Coats, Barcelona (2021), Centre d’art Le Lait, Albi (2020), the Mahal Art Space, Tangier (2019), La Grande Halle de La Villette, Paris (2018), La Capella, Barcelona (2017) or FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims (2017).

His residences include Casa de Velázquez, Madrid (2020-21, 2019), Château Nour, Brussels (2020), Superdeals, Brussels (2018), Le Centquatre, Paris (2014-15) and ZK/U, Berlin (2012-13). He has studied at the Institute for Art in Context, UdK Berlin (2015), la École des Beaux-Arts de Paris (2012), Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2011). 

Image: Heidi Ramírez