Basim Magdy
The title of this exhibition derives from Basim Magdy’s film The Dent, which represents a departure point for his solo show. The exhibition reflects on various burning questions such as environmental crises, urban commodification and alienation in the digital age.
At the same time the artist is drawing on historical and literary references in his work. Lewis Carroll´s phrase “going down the rabbit hole” from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, has been an important inspiration for this exhibition. Here, the phrase reflects a space where the surreal and magical entangle with the dangerous yet wonderful.
When stepping into the exhibition the viewers are confronted with previously unknown realities where colorful paintings, distorted Polaroids, poetic and enchanting 16mm films meet historical and contemporary phenomena, and where past, present and future constantly switch places.
Relying on humor and self-irony, Basim Magdy challenges viewers with the absurdity of life and banality of existence. Laughter is the best medicine—until it gets stuck in your throat.
Do you want to see more? You can see more images from the exhibition in our Flickr album. You can also find albums with photos from our other exhibitions on our Flickr.
Basim Magdy (b. 1977, Egypt) is an artist and filmmaker. Magdy lives and works in Basel, Switzerland. Avtrycket / The Dent is Basim Magdy´s first solo exhibition in Sweden.
His work appeared recently in solo exhibitions at museums such as M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp; MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon; La Kunsthalle Mulhouse, Mulhouse, France; MCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; MAXXI National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, Rome; Jeu de Paume, Paris; Arnolfini, Bristol; CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, Art in General, New York and in groups shows at MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Castello di Rivoli, Torino, New Museum Triennial, New York; Istanbul Biennial; Sharjah Biennial; Athens Biennial, GIBCA Gothenburg, SeMA Media City Seoul Biennial, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco and Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Magdy won the Abraaj Art Prize, Dubai (2014) and he was selected Deutsche Bank’s 2016 Artist of the Year.
Exhibition is presented with the support of the Swiss Arts Council Council
Pro Helvetia
