Narrated sound piece for museum audio guide, English and German, 2013.
“Where does the story begin? Does the story begin? The paintings tell a tale that unfolds in all directions: high and low, close up in the foreground and far on the horizon at an impossible distance. Which way will you turn as you enter the gallery? You can start by turning left or turning right. Either way, the painting’s story will be told, but will it be the same story?”
Created for Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, Mille Regretz leads visitors on a unique tour of ten sixteenth-century tapestry cartons by Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, depicting the 1535 Conquest of Tunis.
Nemer reflects on historical details and shares personal impressions, artistic curiosities and musical impulses. By turns factual and fantastical, Mille Regretz addresses representations of war and colonialism, patronage and artistic autonomy, and questions how we understand Vermeyen’s images as modern-day spectators. A detail of a tender moment between warriors serves as the nexus for the intersecting questions of Nemer’s discourse.
The narration is available in English and German versions. In 2015, Mille Regretz was acquired by the Kunsthistorisches Museum and is now part of the permanent collection.
Critical writing about Mille Regretz includes “Sound, listening and the queer art of history,” an essay by Dr. Jennifer Evans for Rethinking History, The Journal of Theory and Practice, 2018.
