Mireille Astore
Encyclopedia
Mireille Astore (Arabic
: ميراي استور) is an artist
and a writer
. She left Beirut
during the Lebanese civil war
in 1975 to live in Melbourne, Australia. She studied the Sciences at the University of Melbourne
where she graduated before becoming a full-time artist and writer. Influenced by Continental Philosophy
, her art draws on autobiographical notions of representation
and the unheimlich; where the conscious intersects with the unconscious. Through her art and her writing she "explores human emotions" and "asks what it is to be human". Mireille Astore attained a PhD in Contemporary Arts from the University of Western Sydney
(2008). She is Adjunct Lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts
, the Visual Arts Faculty of the University of Sydney
and Research Fellow at the American University of Beirut.
; at the Freud Museum
- London; at the Millais Gallery – Southampton; at Espace SD – Beirut; the Tate Modern
– London; at the Centre Pompidou; the 8th Sharjah Biennial
2008; and the 3rd Guangzhou Triennial. She has exhibited her photomedia artworks at the Conny Dietzschold Multiple Box Gallery - Sydney. In 2003 she won the (Australian) National Photographic Purchase Award.
Of Mireille Astore’s "Tampa" artwork which referenced the MS Tampa Norwegian ship, it was said:
A short film directed by Astore that was based on the "Tampa" work, "Tampa: a Walk on the Beach", was screened in Sydney and London.
. Some of these took place at the 2008 Home Works IV, the 2005 Poetics of Australian Space conference - University of Sydney & Art Gallery of New South Wales
, Sydney, at the 2010 5th International Conference on the Arts in Society, and the 2010 Silent Spaces Exhibition at the Macquarie University Art Gallery.
and fictocritical
writing are published in: New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century (Thames and Hudson); Art in the Age of Terrorism (Paul Holberton Publishing & University of Washington Press); Arab Women’s Lives Retold: Exploring Identity Through Writing (Syracuse University Press). In 2008, Mireille Astore co-guest edited Artlink
Vol 28 no. 1.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: ميراي استور) is an artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She left Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
during the Lebanese civil war
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
in 1975 to live in Melbourne, Australia. She studied the Sciences at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
where she graduated before becoming a full-time artist and writer. Influenced by Continental Philosophy
Continental philosophy
Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage, refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe. This sense of the term originated among English-speaking philosophers in the second half of the 20th century, who used it to refer to a range of thinkers and...
, her art draws on autobiographical notions of representation
Representation (arts)
Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else. It is through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of naming its elements...
and the unheimlich; where the conscious intersects with the unconscious. Through her art and her writing she "explores human emotions" and "asks what it is to be human". Mireille Astore attained a PhD in Contemporary Arts from the University of Western Sydney
University of Western Sydney
The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
(2008). She is Adjunct Lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts
Sydney College of the Arts
The Sydney College of the Arts in Rozelle, Sydney, Australia is the visual arts faculty of the University of Sydney. It is housed in the Kirkbride complex, a cluster of sandstone buildings designed by James Barnet, the government architect in the late 19th century...
, the Visual Arts Faculty of the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
and Research Fellow at the American University of Beirut.
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
Exhibitions
Mireille Astore's artworks have been exhibited and screened at the 2004 Sydney Film FestivalSydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
; at the Freud Museum
Freud Museum
The Freud Museum, at 20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead, was the home of Sigmund Freud and his family when they escaped Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. It remained the family home until Anna Freud, the youngest daughter, died in 1982. The centrepiece of the museum is Freud's study, preserved...
- London; at the Millais Gallery – Southampton; at Espace SD – Beirut; the Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
– London; at the Centre Pompidou; the 8th Sharjah Biennial
Sharjah Biennial
The Sharjah Biennial is a celebrated cultural event in the Arab world. It is organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation.-Early days:Since its inception in 1993, the event has formed a cultural bridge between artists, art institutions and organisations locally, regionally and internationally...
2008; and the 3rd Guangzhou Triennial. She has exhibited her photomedia artworks at the Conny Dietzschold Multiple Box Gallery - Sydney. In 2003 she won the (Australian) National Photographic Purchase Award.
Of Mireille Astore’s "Tampa" artwork which referenced the MS Tampa Norwegian ship, it was said:
"Just as Benjamin noted the contextual aesthetic consequences of the circulation of photographic images through newspapers and magazines, Astore’s combination of photography with sculpture and performance, circulated via her website, rewrites both photography and the spatial and interpretive dynamics of this installation work.”
A short film directed by Astore that was based on the "Tampa" work, "Tampa: a Walk on the Beach", was screened in Sydney and London.
Short Films
After "Tampa: a Walk on the Beach", Astore's short film, "Not From Here" "questions the legitimacy of the original photograph". It has been shown in galleries and film festivals in over 20 countries. Some international screenings include the né à Beyrouth Film Festival in Beirut, the Toronto Arab Film Festival and the CinemaEast Film Festival in New York and the Konstföreningen Aura Gallery in Sweden. Another short film, "3494 Houses + 1 Fence", which juxtaposed images of houses in Australia with scenes from a war damaged fence in Lebanon "create[s] a striking picture of her awareness of the contrasts between her memories and her current life". It was selected to feature in the Women's Cinema from Tangiers to Tehran Film Festival and was included on the third volume of the "Resistance(s)" DVD series.Performances
Mireille Astore gives public lectures and performancesPerformance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
. Some of these took place at the 2008 Home Works IV, the 2005 Poetics of Australian Space conference - University of Sydney & Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
, Sydney, at the 2010 5th International Conference on the Arts in Society, and the 2010 Silent Spaces Exhibition at the Macquarie University Art Gallery.
Publications
Mireille Astore's artworks, poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and fictocritical
Fictocriticism
Fictocriticism is a postmodern, experimental often feminist style of writing.The traditional divisions among the practices of fiction, theory and criticism into stories, essays and critiques tend to be merged with fictocriticism which combines elements of these writing practices into a single text....
writing are published in: New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century (Thames and Hudson); Art in the Age of Terrorism (Paul Holberton Publishing & University of Washington Press); Arab Women’s Lives Retold: Exploring Identity Through Writing (Syracuse University Press). In 2008, Mireille Astore co-guest edited Artlink
Artlink Magazine
-Overview:Artlink is an international quarterly magazine specializing in contemporary art.Artlink's publisher is the non-profit organisation Artlink Australia, which is supported by the Federal Government through the Visual Arts/Craft Strategy of Australia Council, and by the South Australian...
Vol 28 no. 1.
External links
- http://www.mireille.astore.id.au