Learning to live with Ghosts in the Aftermath of War: On Documentary Strategies in Rabih Mroué's How Nancy wished Everything was an April Fool's Joke

TY - JOUR

T1 - Learning to live with Ghosts in the Aftermath of War

T2 - On Documentary Strategies in Rabih Mroué's How Nancy wished Everything was an April Fool's Joke

AU - Gade, Solveig

PY - 2015/10/2

Y1 - 2015/10/2

N2 - The past decade has witnessed a surge in quasi-documentary art forms engaging with the topic of war and conflict. Taking its point of departure in this trend, this article will analyse and discuss the performance How Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool's Joke by Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué. Positioning the performance within the specific context of post-war Lebanon, the article will explore the ways in which the twisted documentary strategy employed by Mroué, that is, an approach entailing the blending of fact and fiction, might be said to work as a critical strategy, ultimately inviting the audience to question the existing, competing renderings of the Lebanese Civil War. Based on these findings, the article will conclude by suggesting why the quasi-documentary format has developed such evident appeal for artists wrestling with the topic of war in the contemporary era of visual warfare.

AB - The past decade has witnessed a surge in quasi-documentary art forms engaging with the topic of war and conflict. Taking its point of departure in this trend, this article will analyse and discuss the performance How Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool's Joke by Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué. Positioning the performance within the specific context of post-war Lebanon, the article will explore the ways in which the twisted documentary strategy employed by Mroué, that is, an approach entailing the blending of fact and fiction, might be said to work as a critical strategy, ultimately inviting the audience to question the existing, competing renderings of the Lebanese Civil War. Based on these findings, the article will conclude by suggesting why the quasi-documentary format has developed such evident appeal for artists wrestling with the topic of war in the contemporary era of visual warfare.

U2 - 10.1080/17526272.2015.1108581

DO - 10.1080/17526272.2015.1108581

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1752-6272

VL - 8

SP - 328

EP - 346

JO - Journal of War and Culture Studies

JF - Journal of War and Culture Studies

IS - 4

ER -