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Germany
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Join Monira Al Qadiri for a lecture performance accompanying her current exhibition Hero at the Berlinische Galerie, with curator Anne Bitterwolf.
The Berlinische Galerie presents Hero, a major solo exhibition by Monira Al Qadiri. The show focuses on her long-standing exploration of the sociocultural, environmental, and political dimensions of the global oil industry.
Through a complex ensemble of sculpture, video, and painting, the artist examines how human activity has turned crude oil into an engine of prosperity, but also of exploitation, geopolitical interests, and structural dependencies—a raw material that is inextricably linked to demands for power, inequality, and colonial dynamics.
At the centre of the exhibition is the oil tanker, which serves as an emblematic figure of our present. This floating behemoth represents a dying industry with a toxic legacy that continues to affect the oceans, the air, the earth, and ultimately our own bodies. The artist considers this monstrous vessel from an equally poetic and critical perspective—and reimagines it as the protagonist of a narrative about excess, power, and decay.
Free admission, registration required.
About the artist
Monira Al Qadiri (b. 1983, Dakar, Senegal) is a Kuwaiti artist educated in Japan. Spanning sculpture, installation, film and performance, Al Qadiri’s multifaceted practice is mainly based on research into the cultural histories of the Gulf region. Her interpretation of the Gulf’s “petro-culture” is manifested through speculative scenarios that take inspiration from science fiction, autobiography, traditional practices and pop culture, resulting in uncanny and covertly subversive works. She currently lives and works in Berlin.
Monira Al Qadiri: Hero
On view until August 17, 2026
