In the medieval Arab world, shadow theatre was not merely a form of entertainment but an instrument of truth. And among its most revered practitioners was Muhammad Ibn Daniyal.
The playwright emigrated to Cairo from Mosul as a teenager to escape the Mongol invasion. This catastrophic experience and sense of injustice translated into many of his plays. Through puppets and silhouettes, Ibn Daniyal found the means to expose corruption and challenge societal conventions with a stinging satire. His most notable work is A Shadow of a Shadow, which depicts the customs of 13th century life in Egypt while making light of the political situation of the time.
It is this play that lends its title to William Kentridge’s first major solo exhibition in the region, taking place at the Sharjah Art Foundation. It may seem like a strange pairing at first. After all, what does the South African artist have in common with a medieval playwright from the Arab world?
Quite a bit, as it turns out. While Kentridge is known for his work as an illustrator, filmmaker and sculptor, the artist has also been a prolific theatre-maker. It is this aspect of the artist that A Shadow of a Shadow focuses on. The exhibition explores 17 performances by Kentridge, spanning from the late 1980s to the present. It reveals Kentridge’s prowess in taking classic works and adapting them to reflect contemporary issues. Through props, illustrations, scale models and installations, A Shadow of a Shadow pulls back the curtain on one of theatre’s most interesting and provocative figures, all while making visitors feel like they are part of the performances themselves.
Kentridge’s similarities with Ibn Daniyal are drawn early on in the exhibition. It opens with a wall-sized illustration of two bulbous and moustached figures in confrontation. One bellows into a megaphone, while the other has his arm up in protest. In the centre of the space is the frazzled form of a cat, rendered as a silhouette. However, stand at just the right place and the cat transforms into the shadow of a coffee pot.