Complicity

This exhibition is inspired by a quote from Just Kids, a memoir penned by the poet, artist and singer Patti Smith about her complicated and intimate relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. The quote refers to a black and white photographic portrait he shot of her for the cover of her first album in 1975.  Smith’s words suggest that artists are often present in their works even when they are not the subject.

Featuring video, photography, photomontage, painting and drawing, the show brings together a group of works in which artist and subject are inextricably bound. Many of the works stem from a private story, a recurring memory or an intense personal experience. They compress and translate, through the physical form of an artwork, intangible desires and vulnerabilities.  Because of the introspective and psychological nature of the work, they often trigger in the viewer a sense of unease, as if they are seeing or partaking in something that is not quite legitimate. And beneath the veneer of personal disclosures, complex and collective power relations reveal themselves.

Featuring Artists: Artists Doa Aly, Shady Elnoshokaty, Nermine Hammam, Mahmoud Khaled, Jumana Manna, Setareh Shahbazi and Tamara Al-Samerraei.