Artist's Talk: Dor Guez

To coincide with Dor Guez’ first UK solo exhibition at the ICA, the artist gives a talk on his practice, discussing his new body of work The Sick Man of Europe. Guez's most ambitious project to date, this reflects on the military history and current political climate of the Middle East through the creative practices of individual soldiers from the region.

Dor Guez (b.1983 Jerusalem) is an artist, scholar, and founder of the Christian Palestinian Archive (CPA). In March 2014, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem has appointed Guez as Head of the Photography Department, making Guez the youngest department head in the history of the academy. His latest research project about archives, Pre-Israeli Orientalism, is due to appear this coming year.

Guez's work has been the subject of over 20 solo exhibitions. In 2010, the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, held his first European solo exhibition, making Guez the youngest artist to have had a solo show in the institute's history. In 2012, The Rose Art Museum in Boston hosted Guez's first Overview show. Guez presented in numerous international exhibitions and biennials including the 12th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul; 17th and 18th  International Contemporary Art Festival, Videobrasil, São Paulo; the 3rd Moscow International Biennale, Moscow; Biennale Benin, Cotonou; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; Maxxi Museum, Rome, and more. Guez’s most recent installation, 40-Days was exhibited at The Mosaic Rooms, London.

Simon Grant is editor of TATE ETC. art magazine published by Tate, and co-founder of the art quarterly Picpus. He is editor of In My View: Personal Reflections on Art by Today's Leading Artistspublished by Thames & Hudson and translated into various languages. He has written for numerous newspapers and magazines as well as contributed catalogue essays on artists ranging from Paul Nash to Keith Tyson.