Evidence

Artists: Mounira Al Solh, Nino Bulling, Neïla Czermak Ichti, Mazen Kerbaj.

How can we capture the present and tell its story in an era where every day is marked by violence, global upheaval and the breakdown of political structures?  This question is the point of departure for the exhibition Evidence: Drawing the Present, which brings together four international artists: Mounira Al Solh, Nino Bulling, Neïla Czermak Ichti and Mazen Kerbaj.

All four artists are deeply concerned with how time and narrative can be used to frame history. Each has developed a unique way of capturing the present and creating spaces for reflection that go beyond daily political news. Their work—by turns personal, subjective, informative or militant—reflects the common strategy of weaving connections between the personal and the political sphere. Through their work, which blurs the boundaries between illustration and painting, drawing and embroidery, the artists demonstrate the potential of narrative drawing in transgressing conventional genre categories.

In her work, Mounira Al Solh, who divides her time between Beirut and Amsterdam, explores the current political and social realities of Lebanon and Syria, as well as the countries’ history. For this exhibition, the artist has selected a series of works that echo recent events in the region, in which she highlights the transformative power of women in Arabic culture. The work of Mazen Kerbaj, musician, artist and comics author based in Berlin, takes shape in a direct response to political events, or under formal time constraints. This allows him to explore the limits of narration, from chance to intention, abstraction to figuration. Nino Bulling, who also lives in Berlin, began their career with illustrated reports on contemporary political and social subjects, before shifting to a more personal, autofictional approach with firebugs. This comic explores fundamental categories such as gender, identity and nature in the context of climate change. The drawings and paintings of Marseille-based Neïla Czermak Ichti recreate everyday family scenes with loved ones. She probes them for all that is unseen and unsaid within them, exploring these dimensions through distortion techniques, borrowing from the genres of horror, science-fiction and comics.

Curated by Anna Sailer.