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BASEL ABBAS & RUANNE ABOU-RAHME

BASEL ABBAS & RUANNE ABOU-RAHME

b. 1983, United States
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Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-rahme Biography

Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme are a leading Palestinian artist duo whose practice spans video, sound, performance, text, and large-scale multimedia installation. Based between New York and Ramallah, they are known for transforming archival documents, online fragments, field recordings, and self-generated material into layered artworks that explore themes of collective memory, political resistance, displacement, and the erasure and reappearance of lived histories.

Since beginning their collaboration in 2007, Abbas and Abou-Rahme have gained international recognition for their immersive, research-driven approach to contemporary art. Their work has been presented in major institutions and global exhibitions, including solo shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Copenhagen Contemporary, and participation in key biennials such as the Sharjah Biennial, Berlin Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, and São Paulo Biennial.

Through their innovative use of sound, moving image, and performance, the duo create emotionally charged environments that reframe how stories of conflict, survival, and futurity are told—positioning them among the most influential voices in Palestinian contemporary art today.

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Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-rahme Pricing / Available Works
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Explore Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-rahme's Exhibitions On Now

Whitney Biennial 2026 Whitney Museum of American Art 8 March–23 August 2026 New York

Representative Artworks

Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us (2020–2022). Four-channel video projection (H.D., colour, sound) on partition wall, metal and concrete panels, photographic gel. Performers: Rima Baransi, Haykal, Julmud, Makimakkuk. Co-commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Dia Art Foundation, New York. Exhibition view: May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zürich (21 May–11 September 2022). Courtesy the artists. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zürich.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Alt Bomontiada, Istanbul (15 February–16 April 2017). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Alt Bomontiada, Istanbul (15 February–16 April 2017). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Alt Bomontiada, Istanbul (15 February–16 April 2017). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, The Incidental Insurgents: The Part about the Bandits (Part 1, Chapter 1) (2012–2015). Exhibition view: The Incidental Insurgents, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania (4 February–22 March 2015). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us (2020–2022). Four-channel video projection (H.D., colour, sound) on partition wall, metal and concrete panels, photographic gel. Performer: Rima Baransi, Haykal, Julmud, Makimakkuk. Co-commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Dia Art Foundation, New York. Exhibition view: May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zürich (21 May–11 September 2022). Courtesy the artists. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zürich.
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Muqata'a performance at the Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Studio, 11 June 2022. Part of Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (23 April–26 June 2022). © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Where the soil has been disturbed (2022) (detail). Archival inkjet prints on metal and concrete panels, dried Syrian thistle and milk thistle, bricks. Exhibition view: May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zürich (21 May–11 September 2022). Courtesy the artists. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zürich.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Where the soil has been disturbed (2022). Archival inkjet prints on metal and concrete panels, dried Syrian thistle and milk thistle, bricks. Exhibition view: May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zürich (21 May–11 September 2022). Courtesy the artists. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zürich.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us (2020–2022) (still). Four-channel video projection (H.D., colour, sound) on partition wall, metal and concrete panels, photographic gel. 34 min, 34 sec. Performers: Rima Baransi, Haykal, Julmud, Makimakkuk. Co-commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Dia Art Foundation, New York. Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us (2020–2022) (still). Four-channel video projection (H.D., colour, sound) on partition wall, metal and concrete panels, photographic gel. 34 min, 34 sec. Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth: Only sounds that tremble through us (2020–2022) (detail). Four-channel video projection (H.D., colour, sound) on partition wall, metal and concrete panels, photographic gel. Performer: Rima Baransi, Haykal, Julmud, Makimakkuk. Co-commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Dia Art Foundation, New York. Exhibition view: May amnesia never kiss us on the mouth, Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zürich (21 May–11 September 2022). Courtesy the artists. Photo: Peter Baracchi.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Alt Bomontiada, Istanbul (15 February–16 April 2017). Courtesy the artists.
View story
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Alt Bomontiada, Istanbul (15 February–16 April 2017). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Carroll / Fletcher, London (9 September–29 October 2016). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Carroll / Fletcher, London (9 September–29 October 2016). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Carroll / Fletcher, London (9 September–29 October 2016). Courtesy the artists.
View story
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, And Yet My Mask is Powerful (Part 1) (2016). Exhibition view: And Yet My Mask is Powerful, Carroll / Fletcher, London (9 September–29 October 2016). Courtesy the artists.
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Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-rahme in Ocula Magazine

Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme Gestures of Remembrance
Spotlight Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme: Gestures of Remembrance Fawz Kabra Bodies and senses shift back and forth to express collective grief and remembrance in the artists’ new video installation.
Ruanne Abou-Rahme and Basel Abbas
Conversation Ruanne Abou-Rahme and Basel Abbas Fawz Kabra Our work is not really operating in a fictional realm, but in a realm between actuality and virtuality—what is and what could be. We are always building upon sites of resistances that are already being activated.

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