Beyond the veil: Bold art by Persian-Arab women
Super heroes, mythical female figures in the desert: the Suspended Territories exhibition at the Marta Herford museum shows contemporary women's art from the Arab World, Iran and North Africa.
Breaking with tradition
This also means challenging perceptions. Feminist issues are less the focus of the exhibition than a questioning of the relationship between body and space. The works especially deal with the exploitation of history and identity in a globalized world.
Arwa Arboun: Family history
Libya-based multimedia artist Arwa Arboun breaks with traditional image motifs and chooses a very personal approach. For the diptych "I'm sorry/I forgive you," she portrays her parents in two photographs that reverse the power relations between the sexes.
Lamina Joreige: Fragments from the war
While living in Lebanon, the artist examines the relationship between individual stories and collective history. Launched in 2002, the "Objects of War" series explores the possibilities in visual representations of the Lebanese civil war. In addition, Joreige shows print stills from Marta Herford's 2006 essay film, "Nights and Days," produced during the war in Lebanon.
Sama Alshaibi: Stories from the desert
"Silsala" (connection) is a photography project by Sama Alshaibi that is inspired by the expeditions of the 14th century Moroccan scholar, Ibn Battuta. The US-based Iraqi-Palestinian artist took the images while traveling to various desert regions and oases in the Middle East and North Africa over seven years. "The desert is an interesting metaphor for modern society," she says.
Saba Innab: How to build without a land
Saba Innabs works express the complex situation of stateless Palestinians. On a wall that brutally separates the exhibition space in two parts, one can see a delicate abstract line, retracing the Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian border with Palestine - seen from the opposite side of Palestine. To dwell (arabic. "sakan") seems impossible without limits.
Moufida Fedhila: The transformative power of art
For her short film, "Hors-je," the Tunisian artist worked with children in Ettadhamen City in the capital, Tusis. "This is a neighborhood from which many jihadists go to fight in Syria after they were radicalized or became criminals," said Fedhila. "I try to offer an alternative viewpoint. It's about participation, the core of democracy. I believe in the transformative power of art. "
Mounira al Solh: Irony and amgibuity
The versatile work of Lebanese artist Mounira Al Solh can currently be seen at Documenta in Kassel and Athens, while in 2015 it was displayed at the Venice Biennale. The artist, who lives in Holland, makes videos and video installations, drawings and paintings, embroidery and performances.