Farah Al Qasimi: TAILSPIN

Opens Jan 30, 2027

A server walks past a counter with stacked cups and plates in front of a mural on a brick wall of a tropical island and a lush waterfall.
A server walks past a counter with stacked cups and plates in front of a mural on a brick wall of a tropical island and a lush waterfall.

Farah Al Qasimi, still from TAILSPIN, 2026. HD video, color, sound. Collection of the artist. Courtesy the artist and François Ghebaly, Los Angeles, New York

Farah Al Qasimi: TAILSPIN takes its title from the featured video work, TAILSPIN. Filmed in between Michigan, West Texas, and the East Coast, the work traces the long-standing relationship between American industry, oil, car culture, and Arab immigration.

Told from the perspective of a jinn, or spirit, the work combines fictionalized storytelling, documentary-style footage, and real testimony to explore the complexities of identity-building in post-9/11 America. The film unfolds through auto shops, living rooms, restaurants, and the swamplands of the Rouge River, revealing layered histories of migration, industry, community, and belonging.

Farah Al Qasimi: TAILSPIN is organized by Drew Sawyer, Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography, and Kelly Long, Assistant Curator.

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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