LINA HASHIM
Lina Hashim (b. 1978, Kuwait) works in various mediums such as performance, installation, and photography.
A cornerstone in Hashim’s artistic practice is to investigate and uncover aspects of islam, islamic paradoxes, as sorcery and superstition, unlawful behavior, sexuality and the martyrs' way to paradise. Hashim deals with her work as an insider, and shows us what is normally not visible for someone outside the religious society. At the same time, another cornerstone in Hashim’s practice is a feminist one. She raises questions and discussions regarding women’s rights and place within islam and in the Western world. She interprets these topics with a dualistic perspective and the complexity of being, on the one hand, a woman raised in the muslim faith; and on the other hand, as a critical observer outside. These coexisting positions and Hashim’s feminist point of view bring integrity and authenticity to her artistry. She brings herself and her own story into her works. Her artistry is honest, direct, and intimate.
Hashim has a degree from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Hashim is represented in museums in Denmark and in the US.
CURATORIAL STATEMENT
I’ve borrowed the exhibition title from a hip hop, suggestive song by Tommy Genesis. It repeats this sentence and states almost logically that if ‘man’, meaning human, is a man, women must be gods. It got me thinking about history (and the very curated writing of history), mythologies, religions, and politics. Narratives around women, and so the self and gender, are central points for all four artists. I wanted to fill the gallery with ‘cool female energy’ and make a point out of it. The four artists embody exactly that.
Although the exhibition title may indicate that this is a group exhibition, it must not be understood that way. Rather, see it as four parallel solo exhibitions with four prominent artistries. The curatorial approach is simple, but at the same time complicated. These four artists have been chosen because they, in their own way, and over a long period of time, with their artistic work have examined what it means to them to be a woman. It is about myths, ideas, prejudices, one’s own and other people’s expectations, bodily pleasure and change, social control and shame. So, think of the exhibitions as four books, written by individual authors, with different lives, but which make sense to read in light of each other.
Curated by Simone Aalbæk Høyersten