Mounira Al Solh

Mounira Al Solh produced the series 13 April, 13 April, 13 April in the context of her solo exhibition at the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus in Osnabrück in 2022. Like Jewish artist Felix Nussbaum, to whom the museum is dedicated, Mounira Al Solh's life has been marked by war and forced migration. The title of the series refers to 13 April 1975, the first day of the Lebanese Civil War, a war which would continue into the 1990s and whose effects can still be felt today.

The series of drawings consists mainly of self-portraits she created during the Covid-19 lockdowns to reflect on identity and life in times of crisis. The Arabic texts present in many works consider the role of women in society, the 2020 explosion in Beirut, street protests and the Lebanese Civil War.

A new publication collects the complete series of drawings and the translated texts that Al Solh wrote in and alongside the works.

'Why is it still all about a poor woman's body? Why is it OK when a man paints a woman naked, as a muse, but when a woman paints herself it becomes insulting? What is insulting about looking at yourself? (...) I drew self-portraits facing the mirror, undressed. In a society where, as a woman, they think you'd better stay covered. I wanted to rebel. (...) I use my body, my blood is my ink, my ink is never finished. When my blood dries, I will stop the act of drawing.'

Pélagie Gbaguidi

Pélagie Gbaguidi created the new series Espace et Langage especially for this exhibition. For her, the works are as much a form of writing as of drawing. Through these drawings, she tries to create space to reflect on the current period of transition of political systems. She comments on the negative impact of monoculture on rural populations as well as the obsession of European museums with the African artefacts in their depots.

Ielles sèment avec le vent refers to the important role of women in nature conservation, education and care. Gbaguidi's choice to draw on sheets of a botanical encyclopedia also raises questions about care and recovery in a climate of great uncertainty.

Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven

Since 1974, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven has been making drawings that emerge from her subconscious. She refuses to find logical meaning in her mindmaps. However, the drawings do enable her to make her perceptions and dreams more tangible. Kalligraphie was the first series of works Van Kerckhoven made upon her return home to Antwerp in 2007, following her residency at DAAD in Berlin and a stay in Shanghai.

'I like to create series of drawings that are closely associated with the reading of books from different fields that inspire me or tie in with my evolution. I confront the information from the books – both form and content – with my intuitive act of drawing. The essence of the image appears on the paper, straight from my hand, without interference from my brain.'

The drawings in question came into being after consulting books on Giordano Bruno, the structures of atoms and molecules, and an article on Saturn. As the series progressed, certain laws imposed themselves, in terms of approach, method, colour, motifs and use of materials.

Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven's Kalligraphie series was first shown at Manifesta 7 in Trento in 2008. Subsequently, the full series was also presented at Museum M in Leuven in 2010 and at Kunstverein München in 2015.

Press release courtesy Zeno X Gallery.