SUSAN HEFUNA
XCULTURAL CODES
29 May – 17 July 2004
Bluecoat Arts Centre
School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BX
T: +0151 709 5297
email: admin [at] bluecoatartscentre.com
Open Tue – Sat 10.30am – 5pm
(closed Sunday and Monday)
Bluecoat Gallery is pleased to announce XCULTURAL CODES, the first solo exhibition in the UK by acclaimed German/Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna.
Including new and recent works in a wide range of media – photography, drawing, video and sculpture, Hefuna embraces themes of identity, difference and diaspora, reflecting her own dual European/African heritage.
In her photographic works, she utilises the pin-hole camera to subtly question whether globalisation and the acceleration of technological ‘advances’ actually bring us any closer to understanding the lived experience of people in different countries, with increasingly complex histories and backgrounds.
Hefuna resists the notion of a comfortable ‘melting pot’ or ‘global village’, drawing on her own experiences to explore how the meaning of the everyday, such as household objects or neighbourhood scenery, can change when forces outside our control come into play. By focusing on elements that may be considered ‘exotic’ from one perspective, and mundane from another, she melds the inner and outer worlds of the experience of the ‘displaced’, the ‘migrant’ and the ‘foreigner’, illuminating the intensity and complexity of their relationship in the process.
The Bluecoat exhibition will also focus on other aspects of Hefuna’s work, notably the mashrabiya screen, a theme that Hefuna has developed in recent years. Mashrabiyas are ornate wooden or stone decorative screens installed in windows to separate the outside from the inside, to protect the interior from people looking in, while offering a view of the outside world. Their lattice-like structures play a crucial role in the artist’s drawings and sculptural objects, acting as a metaphor for issues pertinent to both her own personal concerns and background, and wider issues around culture and identity.
The exhibition will be completed by a sculptural installation, entitled Grid, made from palmwood and wax, and two video works, Life in the Delta and Frankfurt, is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue published in English and German by Kehrer Verlag which includes an essay on Susan Hefuna’s work by Bluecoat Director, Bryan Biggs.
XCULTURAL CODES coincides with this year’s Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, taking place from the end of June and throughout July at venues throughout the city including Bluecoat, celebrating Arabic art and culture.
Gallery Talk
THE LEGACY OF EDWARD SAID
Talk at Bluecoat by PROFESSOR BASHIR MAKHOUL
Tuesday 13 July 6pm
FREE booking recommended call 0151 709 5689
Edward Said, who died in 2003, was one of the leading literary critics of the 20th century and perhaps the most visible and articulate advocate of the Palestinian cause in the US. His books, such as Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism, remain immensely influential across the cultural spectrum. In this talk, presented against the backdrop of Susan Hefuna’s exhibition at Bluecoat, Professor Bashir Makhoul discusses Said’s continuing influence on visual arts practitioners, citing his own work and that of other artists of the Arab diaspora. The talk will be followed by a discussion.
Professor Bashir Makhoul is Head of Art & Design at The University of Luton. He has exhibited internationally, including Hayward Gallery London, Liverpool Biennial, National Museum Jordan and in Pakistan, Berlin, Sydney and New York.
