Strange Land: A Thousand Solitudes

Randa Mirza and Aya Metwalli present Strange Land: A Thousand Solitudes on November 19 at Nau B1, Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts. This audiovisual performance, specially reworked for the Panoràmic festival as part of the bicentenary of photography, explores the intersections between memory, colonial history and archival practices in the Arab world.

Drawing on photographic documents from the Arab Image Foundation, visual artist Randa Mirza and composer and performer Aya Metwalli create a live experience in which image and sound intertwine through a process of improvisation. The piece reflects on the history of photography, the materiality of images and the ability of archives to generate new readings of the past. The result is a sensory journey that transforms the archive into a living, open and constantly evolving narrative.

Randa Mirza

Randa Mirza (Beirut, 1979) is a visual artist working with photography, video, installation and performance. From a feminist and decolonial perspective, her practice questions hegemonic systems of thought and dominant forms of representation. By making contemporary symbolic, social and political constructions visible, she interrogates the gaze and the contexts in which images are produced and received, bringing to light what has been forgotten or deliberately concealed. Her work lies between documentary, personal expression and artistic writing, understanding art as a space for reflection, reparation and resistance in the face of violence.

Aya Metwalli

Aya Metwalli (Cairo, 1988) is a singer, composer and performer. Her practice explores the voice as a space where raw expression meets electronic transformation. Influenced by Cairo’s intense urban soundscape, she combines Arabic maqam, experimental electronics and noise to create immersive performances in which the voice is pushed to the limits of its expressive possibilities.