Yto Barrada - Tree identification for beginners

Yto Barrada?s body of work is intrinsically imbued with politics, often subtly suggested by symbolic visuals and instilled by poetry rather than obvious written signs. Enigma, playfulness, irony and humor reinforce rather than soften the ways Barrada uncovers historical and political structures of domination.0A hallmark and recurring motif in Barrada?s oeuvre, the palm tree, both a co-opted landmark of exoticism and a pawn to be played in the game of urban planning, engages with ideas of renewal and decay. Blue Palm (2017-18), a steel sculpture with colored electrical bulbs representing the shape of a palm tree will be included in the exhibition. Barrada?s photographic series including Murs rouge au palmier (Red Walls with Palm), Tangier(2009) on view in the exhibition, depicts obsolete and disused modernist buildings obstructed by tall and vigorous palm trees. Barrada examines how a city and its people might approach the process of reinvention. An invitation to look at renewed and recomposed environments, Barrada disseminates ideas of utopia and defiance while questioning how physical and psychological boundaries frame people?s lives.00Exhibition: Pace Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (03.09. - 10.11.2018).