Waves (VIRTUAL EXHIBITION): GROUP EXHIBITION CURATED BY NAJLAA EL-AGELI

Sulger –Buel Gallery cordially invites you to the launch of its exhibition
WAVES. It will be available to view online only from1 June to 31st August 2020.
Curated by Najlaa El-Ageli, of Noon Arts Projects, this vibrant show brings the work of five contemporary artists linked to North Africa and its diaspora, as they explore both regional and global themes.

Participating artists: Amado Alfadni, COMBO, Ilyes Messaoudi, Hany Rashed
and Soad Abdul-Rasoul.

Joined by their North African heritage, WAVES features an eclectic mix of art practitioners as they explore and respond to an environment wherein extremism, materialism, consumerism, manipulation and post-colonialism take on a particular form and impact on the local culture, as well as the making of waves out of these underlying social, political and economic currents.

Blending together fact and fiction, with past and present concerns, the creative works comment and playfully distort an inherently complex reality; thus, making new extensions and offering an authentic experience in which the artists reside. Whilst each has different skills and talent, what is pertinent to the North African identity within the universal context is hereby revealed with a great cross section of origins coming from Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia and Morocco.

Najlaa El-Ageli: “I am excited and honoured to be curating this exhibition at Sulger-Buel, focusing on the current waves crashing onto the North African arts scene. In terms of the appreciation of visual art, this part of the African continent is sometimes forgotten or sidelined, but as a place it has always been a magnet for every kind of civilisation and that has left deep imprints onto its collective cultural, social and political psyche.

“This exhibition seeks to highlight the diversity of thought and technique that is employed by the artists, from Amado Alfadni's commentary on the repercussions of post-colonialism on the region, to Soad Abdul-Rasouls's queries into the female place within society, to Combo's diasporic discourse on the North African identity in Europe.

“We also have Ilyes Messaoudi’s magic wand that revives the olden tales of Scheherazade within the modern Tunisian setting, to lastly Hany Rashed’s satirical windows conveying popular Egyptian street and domestic life. All in all I want to share the beautiful North African vibes and the energy that is presently undergoing major tidal change and transformation.”