Mounira Al Solh

In Love in Blood, 2023

Mounira Al Solh, In Love in Blood, al jounoun (folly), 2023, Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg

The work of Mounira Al Solh (*1978, Beirut, LB) spans drawing, embroidery, installation, video, photography and performance. She uses these media to address both past and present conflicts in the Middle East – with a particular focus on the complex and sometimes contradictory position of women in the Arab world.

Mounira Al Solh – audio guide in plain language

The installation In Love in Blood is based on a collection of terms from the 13th century Islamic theologian Qayyim El Jawziyya comprising more than fifty Arabic expressions for love. Words that can be translated, for instance, as affection, adoration, passion, blood, nostalgia, sadness or folly and describe different intensities and nuances of a feeling are each embroidered on a piece of fabric and accompanied by an illustration. This encourages reflection on how the terms – along with their associated positive and negative connotations – are connected.

EINZEL- UND GRUPPENAUSTELLUNGEN U.A.:

35th Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BR (2023); BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK (2022); Busan Biennale, Busan, KR (2020); Jameel Arts Center, Dubai, AE (2018); 56th Biennale di Venezia, Venice, IT (2015); KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, DE (2014); Haus der Kunst, Munich, DE (2008)

WEBSEITE:

http://mouniraalsolh.com/