(b. 1988, Morocco) Lives and works in New York, USA
Working across video, sculpture, digital media and installation, Merium Bennani draws on the aesthetics of reality TV, documentary and vérité genres, animation and her lived experience to create seemingly absurd and playful narratives that reveal the nuanced intricacies of human behaviour. Influenced by her personal history, she creates immersive works that reflect on the subjects like migration, diasporic identity and, more generally, the role of women in contemporary society. Blending traditional representation of Moroccan culture and history with pop culture imagery, sci-fi tropes and fictional narratives, Bennani creates points of access to the audiences to connect with her subject matter of complex social, political and cultural discourses. Through such commentary on contemporary society, the artist reflects on fragmented, transient identities, geopolitics and ubiquity and impact of digital technologies.
Meriem Bennani presented solo exhibitions at the Renaissance Society (Chicago); Nottingham Contemporary (Nottingham); Julia Stoschek Collection (Berlin); Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris); The Kitchen,(NYC); and MoMA PS1 (NYC). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at institutions including LAX (LA); Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Copenhagen); and MAXXI National Museum of XXI Arts (Rome). She has participated in major international exhibitions including the Whitney Biennial (NYC, 2019); Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement, (Turin, 2019); Centre d’Art Contemporain (Geneva, 2018); Biennale de Rennes, (France, 2018); and 11th Shanghai Biennale (China 2016).