The Pixelated Revolution
A non-academic lecture
by Rabih Mroué

SALT Galata, Auditorium

The Pixelated Revolution (2012) by the artist Rabih Mroué begins with this sentence: “The Syrian protesters are recording their own deaths.” The subject of this non-academic lecture, which operates outside the conventional norms of lecture-giving as well as performance, departs from the witness videos recorded on cellphones during the Syrian Revolution, uploaded and distributed via social media outlets. The Pixelated Revolution interweaves topics as diverse as ophthalmology, Dogme 95 films, representation, media and news reporting, revolution, the internet and 19th century crime solving methods.

The lecture will be held in English.


Rabih Mroué (born 1967) works and lives in Beirut. His solo exhibition organized by BAK basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht in 2010 traveled to Iniva, London; Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart and tranzitdisplay, Prague. Recent exhibitions include: dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, 2012; Performa 09, New York, 2009; 11th International Istanbul Biennial, İstanbul, 2009; Tarjama/Translation, Queens Museum of Art, New York, 2009; Manifesta 8, Murcia, 2009; Soft Manipulation – Who is afraid of the new now?, Casino Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 2008; Medium Religion, Center for Art and Media (ZKM), Karlsruhe, 2008 and the Sydney Biennale in 2006. In 2011, Mroué was awarded a Prince Claus Award, and in 2010 an artist grant for Theatre/Performance Arts from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts, New York as well as the Spalding Gray Award. He is a contributing editor of the quarterly Kalamon and The Drama Review as well as a co-founder and board member of the Beirut Art Center, Beirut. The artist is currently on an “Interweaving Performance Cultures” fellowship at Freie Universität, Berlin.

“[Mroué is] to Beirut what the Wooster Group is to New York: a blend of avant-garde innovation, conceptual complexity and political urgency, all grounded in earthy humor.” The New York Times