Totalitarian Props

Totalitarian Props

Group Exhibition

This transdisciplinary exhibition explores and investigates certain acts of tyranny, particularly within the context of the Pan-Africanism ideal and Pan-Arabism dream. It looks at how state, government and utopian dictatorships developed modalites of population mass-control and utilised surveillance mechanisms. By playing with the political props, real and imagined, a further link is made to the ongoing colonial conversation. 

Curated by Najlaa El-Ageli and Tewa Barnosa.

Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Totalitarian Props shows how truth can be perverted, manipulated and disguised under authoritarian power structures. The selected artists bring insight into intimate, archival works and research journeys, unleashing the imagination to represent what life feels like under totalitarian rule. While some draw on real lived experience, others interrogate the broader socio-political picture, by bringing to light overlooked colonial histories and the formation of complex identities that are caught in between.

In parallel with the artworks and installations, an engagement programme will present two film screenings, two panel discussions and a workshop to allow for deeper discussion and exploration.

TOTALITARIAN PROPS: CURATORS AND ARTISTS

PANEL DISCUSSION

Alessandra Ferrini, Tewa Barnosa, Jihan ElTahri, Amado Alfadni and Najlaa EL-Ageli. Chaired by Shubbak CEO Alia Alzougbi discuss their approach and relationship to the archive, silenced histories, and memory processing and how they tackle and navigate the contested subjects of power, ideologies, and their impact on the public. The discussion will attempt to open a discourse on how artists, curators, and researchers seek to shed light on marginalised histories and stories and give them a delegated space.

Exhibition Artists:

Afsoon

Alessandra Ferrini 

Alla Budabbus

Amado Alfadni

Hadia Gana

Ibrahim Shebani aka "Born in Exile"

Jihan El Tahri

Mai Al Shazly

Marcella Mameli Badi

Marwa Benhalim

Najlaa EL-Ageli - Curator

Tewa Barnosa - Artist & curator