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Sex Reenchanted

Daphne Ahlers Dalila Dalléas Bouzar CANAN Anna Ehrenstein Monia Ben Hamouda Şafak Şule Kemancı Tabita Rézaire Zoe Williams

21.06. - 22.09.2024

Group exhibition

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Publication

The feminist group exhibition Sex Reenchanted presents eight international artists and their decolonial perspectives on sexuality.

How can sensuality and desire emerge from the shadows of histories of colonialism, slavery and misogynistic components of modern medicine? In answering this question, the exhibition draws on pre-capitalist narratives and art forms that have been partly forgotten and partly suppressed. How can feminists appropriate historical practices and forms of knowledge in line with Silvia Federici's call for a 're-enchantment of the world'?

Dalila Dalléas Bouzar traces the emotional power of prehistoric rock paintings in the southern Algerian Sahara; Monia Ben Hamouda practises Islamic calligraphy to question the Christian link between sex and original sin; CANAN revisits the Ottoman literary genre of the bahname, which focuses on sexual pleasure of women; Şafak Şule Kemancı's works evoke gardens filled with the intoxicating scent of seductive flowers.

Knowledge is a dynamic entity that is constantly dying and being reborn. Dealing with cultural heritage is a process of constant renegotiation. In the exhibition, this is seen in the equally uncanny and inviting works of Zoe Williams, who uninhibitedly revives the eroticism of the antiquity; Anna Ehrenstein's exploration of Orientalism; Daphne Ahlers' unmasking of historical masculinity by playing with the codpiece; Tabita Rézaire's powerful critique of Western gynaecology, guided by the embodied wisdom of her Black ancestors.

Curated by Mehveş Ungan

Generously supported by the Innovationsfonds of the Ministry of Science, Research and Art of the State of Baden-Württemberg.

Notes

  1. Disclaimer: The exhibition contains sexual content which some people may find disturbing. We recommend that parents with children and teachers with students inform themselves and decide whether to visit the exhibition. Thank you very much.

Participating artists:


Daphne Ahlers

Dalila Dalléas Bouzar

CANAN

Anna Ehrenstein

Monia Ben Hamouda

Şafak Şule Kemancı

Tabita Rézaire

Zoe Williams

  • Şafak Şule Kemancı: untitled, 2022. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Tabita Rezaire: Still from Sugar walls teardom, 2016. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Şafak Şule Kemancı: untitled, 2024. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Anna Ehrenstein: Melody for a harem girl by the sea, 2023; Projection screen study, Hijab Textile Assemblage, 2024. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • CANAN: Installation View of The naughty laughter room, 2021. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Daphne Ahlers: Sonne, 2022. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Dalila Dalléas Bouzar: Detail from Vaisseau Infini (Infinit Vessel), 2023. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Anna Ehrenstein: Melody for A Harem Girl II - V. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Daphne Ahlers, Dalila Dalléas Bouzar, CANAN, Anna Ehrenstein, Monia Ben Hamouda, Şafak Şule Kemancı, Tabita Rézaire, Zoe Williams: Exhibition-view “Sex Reenchanted” at Heidelberger Kunstverein, June-Sep 2024. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Zoe Williams: The weapon, 2022. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Monia Ben Hamouda: Venus as a River II (Gymnasium), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and ChertLüdde, Berlin. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.
  • Daphne Ahlers: Fledgelord, 2019. Photo by Tanja Meissner (Karlsruhe), Courtesy & Copyright Heidelberger Kunstverein.