I SAW IT WITH MY OWN HANDS

with Amin Zouiten, Erik Thörnqvist, Sahar Alkhateeb, Therese Bülow
Dec 1, 2023–Jan 21, 2024*

Vernissage: Fri Dec 1, 18–22
Artist interventions and talk: Sat Dec 2, 15–17

I SAW IT WITH MY OWN HANDS is a group exhibition that insists on transcending linguistic confines to explore the depths of human interiority. Emerging from a slippage of mumbled, nonsensical language, it provokes a fundamental inquiry: What unfolds when language falls short in articulating our innermost thoughts and emotions?

The exhibition presents an eclectic range of mediums—sculpture, video, installation, sound, scent—venturing into the concealed facets of our interior worlds. It encourages contemplation on existentialism through artistic interpretation.

Inspired by Teju Cole’s profound insights in Known and Strange Things: Essays, I SAW IT WITH MY OWN HANDS explores the concept of internal weather, emphasising the perpetual dialogue between our internal realms and materiality. In parallel with Jean-Paul Sartre’s monumental work, Being and Nothingness, it venerates the profound artistic freedom entwined with the inner self.

Through Therese Bülow’s transformative sculptures that challenge the living/non-living dichotomy and Sahar Alkhateeb’s site-specific installation, blending malleability with a desire for both stillness and motion, the exhibition cultivates captivating tension within its artistic expression. Amin Zouiten’s introspective video and sound installations probe reality’s distortion, urging contemplation on perception, while Erik Thörnqvist’s abstract works deconstruct foundational concepts of the European modern project.

Each artist’s unique expression invites viewers to reimagine boundaries, perception, and physicality through a visceral and embodied experience. 

Curator: Tawanda Appiah

 

Artist bios

Amin Zouiten (b.1994) is a Swedish-Moroccan filmmaker and artist educated at Malmö Art Academy and Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. His works and films have been exhibited at Malmö Konsthall, Recontres Paris/Berlin, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, CPH:DOX, Tempo Documentary Festival.

Erik Thörnqvist (b.1994) is an artist who resides between Stockholm and Luleå. He earned his MFA degree from the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, in 2023. His work has been included in solo and group exhibitions and screenings at institutions such as; Final Hot Desert in Utah, Lunds konsthall, Konstnärshuset and Norrbotten County Art Museum. Thörnqvist’s work was presented in the Luleå Biennial 2020, “Time on Earth”. Presently, he is working towards a solo exhibition at Luleå Konsthall, set to open in 2024, and nearing completion of two public artworks in Uppsala County.

Sahar Alkhateeb is a Malmö-based artist who holds an MFA degree from Konstfack, Stockholm, and a BA in Contemporary Art from the International Academy of Art in Ramallah / Palestine. Alkhateeb has exhibited their work at various institutions including; Malmö Art Museum, Tensta konsthall, Dunkers kulturhus and Uppsala Art Museum.

Therese Bülow is a Danish artist who lives and works between Copenhagen and Malmö. Bülow graduated with an MFA degree from Malmö Art Academy in 2022. Her work has been exhibited at Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Galleri CC, Møntmestergården at Den Gamle By, Inter Arts Centre, Matteo Cantarell, and Uppsala Konstmuseum, among others. Currently, Bülow is concluding her residency at Rønnebæksholm Kunsthal, in collaboration with writer Sara Mering.

Image: Erik Thörnqvist, Standmaschine I, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.

*The gallery will be closed for the holidays between Dec 18, 2023 and Jan 5, 2024. The exhibition will be open again on Jan 6.