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The song is the call, and the land is calling presents the work of Palestinian artist duo Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme. Simultaneously on view across the two institutions – CC and the Glyptotek – the exhibition takes a deep dive into collective memory and the power of cultural expressions. Featuring both immersive video- and sound installations as well as sculptural archival displays, the artists present a body of works that unfold in the slippages between erasures and reappearances, dispossession and resistance, histories of colonialism and attempts at new livelihoods.
On view at CC is a new site-specific iteration of three combined works: the multi-channel sound and video installation May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us, the sculptural installation Where the soil has been disturbed and the textile banner piece Low cloud hum.
Collectively the works draw connections between narratives of struggle and shared dreams of liberation across different lands, histories and political contexts – focusing particularly on the radical and subversive resistance performed through song, dance and bodily movement.
Through poetry and political thinking Abbas and Abou-Rahme explore how stories of collective resistance resonate in human history and contemporary cultures. Often referring to their works as ‘poetics of resistance’, the artists highlight their interest in how communities can mobilise hope and collectively foster new social potentials despite living with the consequences of oppressive political systems.
 
About Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-RahmeBasel Abbas (b. Nicosia, Cyprus, 1983) and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (b. Boston, USA, 1983) live and work between New York City, USA and Ramallah, Palestine. With backgrounds in sound and experimental film, the artists have developed an internationally renowned body of work that encompasses both video, sound, image, text, and performance practices.
 
CC \ GlyptoteketThe song is the call, and the land is calling is the second exhibition in the three-year partnership program between CC and the Glyptotek. Titled Hosting Histories: Revisiting Cultural Heritage of the Middle East and Beyond the program revisits the cultural heritage of antiquity and its significance today.

May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us is a multi-part research project examining how disintegrated communities bear witness to experiences of violence, loss, displacement and forced migration through performance. At CC, the work is presented as an immersive sound- and video installation consisting of three large video projections on freestanding walls and pulsating sounds.
Since the early 2010s, Abbas and Abou-Rahme have collected online recordings of everyday people singing and dancing in communal spaces in Iraq, Palestine, Yemen and Syria. Accompanied by evocative sound compositions and poetic texts in both English and Arabic, the work brings these recordings together with new filmic performances created in collaboration with local dancers and musicians from Palestine. The work takes on the character of a fragmented storytelling in sound and images, interweaving disparate stories, lived experiences and rituals across different territories.
The common denominator of these fractured communities is their efforts to resist their own erasure by laying claim to their right to self, space and collectivity. Zooming in on ephemeral bodily expressions and gestures, like singing or dancing, the artists pose the question: What significance lies in documenting sound and gesture through embodiment? In doing so, they point to the physical act of performance as a critical space for resilience and an ever-evolving repository of memory.

Installationen Where the soil has been disturbed består af en serie fritstående, rustede stålpaneler og opsatser af betonmursten, hvorfra tørrede, skeletagtige planter stikker op. Billeder, tegninger, arkivnoter og printede screenshots af kunstnernes poesi er monteret på panelerne. Trykkene er arrangeret i overlappende konstellationer, der refererer til det digitale vindue på en computerskærm.
Planterne i installationen er syriske tidsler; en plante, der er hjemmehørende i Palæstina. Af mange opfattes tidslen som en uønsket plante. Men for palæstinenserne har planten gennem lange tider fungeret som en kilde til vild mad og naturmedicin. Planten vokser ofte, hvor jorden er blevet ‘forstyrret’, og kan danne en næsten uigennemtrængelig barriere. Når tidslen dør og går i forrådnelse, vender dens næringsstoffer tilbage til jorden og giver næring til andre former for frø og vegetation, der ligger skjult i jorden. For kunstnerne symboliserer tidslen hårdførhed og modstandskraft i forskellige former.
Over installationen hænger værket Low cloud hum - en serie lette tekstilbannere med mættede billeder af planter. Hævet over gulvet og svajende i luften gentager de farvepaletten i de nærliggende videoprojektioner.

The installation Where the soil has been disturbed consists of a series of freestanding steel panels interspersed with concrete bricks, from which dried, skeletal plants seem to grow. Images, drawings, archival notes, and printed screenshots of the artists’ poetry is mounted on the panels. The prints are arranged in overlapping constellations, referencing the digital window on a computer desktop screen.
The plants in the installation are dried Syrian thistles, a plant native to Palestine. For some, the thistle is considered an undesirable plant, but for Palestinians it has long served as a wild source of food and medicine. The plant often grows where the soil has been disturbed and can form an almost impenetrable barrier. When the thistles die and decay, their nutrients return to the soil and nourish other dormant or suppressed forms of seeds and vegetation. For the artists, the thistle symbolises resilience and resistive power in various forms.
The installation is joined by the work Low cloud hum, a series of light, textile banners imbued with saturated images of plants. Subtly swaying in the air, they echo the color palette of the nearby video projections.

May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us er et flerdelt researchprojekt, der undersøger, hvordan opløste samfund bearbejder vold, tab og fordrivelse gennem performative handlinger. På CC præsenteres værket som en omsluttende lyd- og videoinstallation, der består af tre store videoprojektioner på fritstående vægge og et pulserende lydbillede.
Siden begyndelsen af 2010’erne har Abbas og Abou-Rahme indsamlet onlineoptagelser af helt almindelige mennesker, der synger og danser på offentlige steder i Irak, Palæstina, Yemen og Syrien. I værket bringes disse optagelser sammen med nye filmiske performances skabt af kunstnerne og i samarbejde med lokale dansere og musikere fra Palæstina, stemningsskabende lydkompositioner og brudstykker af kunstnernes egne poetiske tekster på både engelsk og arabisk. I sin helhed får værket karakter af en fragmenteret historiefortælling i lyd og billeder, hvor vidt forskellige historier, levede erfaringer og ritualer på tværs af territorier flettes sammen. 
Fællesnævneren for disse opløste fællesskaber er deres bestræbelser på at modstå deres egen udslettelse ved at gøre krav på deres ret til selv, sted og kollektivitet. Gennem kropslige og performative handlinger gør de krav på rummet, selvet og fællesskabet. Ved at zoome ind på kroppens flygtige udtryk som sang eller dans stiller kunstnerne spørgsmålet: Hvilken magt ligger der i at dokumentere lyd og kropslig bevægelse? Hvordan kan vi forstå den bevægende krop som både et rum for modstand og et evigt voksende arkiv af erindring?

The song is the call, and the land is calling præsenterer den palæstinensiske kunstnerduo Basel Abbas og Ruanne Abou-Rahme. Udstillingen - der finder sted samtidig på både CC og Glyptoteket - dykker dybt ned i menneskets kollektive hukommelse og undersøger kulturens transformative kraft. Gennem video- og lydinstallationer samt skulpturelle arkivværker bevæger udstillingen sig i grænselandet mellem udslettelse og tilbagevenden, tab og modstand, kolonihistorier og håbet om nye sociale virkeligheder.
På CC viser Abbas og Abou-Rahme en ny og steds-specifik version af de tre værker; den altomsluttende lyd- og videoinstallation May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us (2020-2022), den skulpturelle installation Where the soil has been disturbed (2022) samt tekstilværket Low cloud hum (2023).
Med et særligt fokus på sangens, dansens og den bevægende krops radikale kraft, trækker værkerne forbindelser mellem fortællinger om modstandskamp og fælles drømme om frigørelse på tværs af forskellige territorier, landskaber, historier og politiske sammenhænge.
Med poesi og politisk tænkning udforsker Abbas og Abou-Rahme, hvordan beretninger om kollektiv modstand giver genlyd i menneskehedens historie og nutidige kulturer. Selv beskriver kunstnerne deres værker som modstands-poesi – en formulering, der taler ind i kunstnernes vedvarende interesse for, hvordan fællesskaber kan mobilisere håb og selvbestemmelse selv i politisk undertrykkende systemer.
 
Om Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme
Basel Abbas (f. Nicosia, Cypern, 1983) og Ruanne Abou-Rahme (f. Boston, USA, 1983) bor og arbejder mellem New York City, USA, og Ramallah, Palæstina. Med en baggrund i lyd og eksperimentel film har de udviklet en internationalt anerkendt praksis, der omfatter både video, lyd, billede, tekst og performance.
 
CC \ Glyptoteket
The song is the call, and the land is calling er den anden udstilling i det treårige partnerskabsprogram mellem CC og Glyptoteket (2023-2025). Under titlen Hosting Histories: Revisiting Cultural Heritage of the Middle East and Beyond genbesøger udstillingsrækken antikkens kulturarv og dens betydning i dag.