Gallery Anita beckers

Kubra Khademi

We are delighted to present Kubra Khademi's first solo exhibition at the gallery. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1989, the artist, performer and activist has been living in exile in Paris since 2015. In her work, she explores themes such as gender roles, cultural identity and social justice and is committed to the rights of women, children and minorities. Her work is influenced by her personal experiences as a girl and woman in Afghanistan as well as by her experience as a refugee and her exile in Paris. In drawings and paintings on paper, she celebrates the female body, which she depicts in all its facets. Humorous and provocative, her works deal with sexual emancipation and the self-empowerment of women in a male-dominated society.

Bread, work and freedom are basic rights that women in Afghanistan are denied under the Taliban government. Instead, poverty, fear, oppression and persecution prevail. In an open letter on March 3, 2022, Kubra Khademi called on politically influential women to form an external Afghan government "to bring about lasting change and usher in a new era for women [children and minorities], a new era for Afghanistan and a new era for the world."[1] Before fleeing her home country for France, it seemed impossible to the artist that women could hold leading political positions. In the letter, Kubra Khademi addresses former Chancellor Angela Merkel and other influential women by name and asks them to use their power and work together for women's rights in Afghanistan and around the world. The letter remains unanswered to this day.

With the highly political exhibition BREAD, WORK, FREEDOM, Kubra Khademi emphasizes her letter by literally putting her vision of uniting the political power of her addressees into the picture. In addition to life-size nudes of the politicians and the artist herself, four large-format diptychs form the centerpiece of the exhibition. Inspired by motifs from religion and mythology, the women come together with the artist to establish a new world order. It all begins in the hamam, the only place where women in Afghanistan enjoy freedom of speech, and culminates in the depiction of a sexual orgy in which the women indulge with relish. Depicted against a gold background, these images metaphorically symbolize the power of femininity, love and tenderness in opposition to the war and violence of the patriarchy. As if to call out to the women of this world: "Use your power!" Kubra Khademi finds expressive images that seem like a promise of salvation: When powerful women unite, the world can be a better place!

Kubra Khademi is an Afghan artist and performer born in 1989. Kubra Khademi's work explores her life as a refugee and as a woman. She studied Fine Arts at Kabul University before moving to Beaconhouse University in Lahore, Pakistan. There she began creating public performances, a practice she continued after her return to Kabul, in response to a male-dominated society with extremely patriarchal politics. After her performance "Armor" in 2015, she was forced to flee the country. She sought refuge in France and was granted French citizenship in 2020. She now lives and works in Paris. In 2016, she was awarded the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She was nominated for the Emerige Revelations 2019 and is the winner of the 1% Art Market of the City of Paris 2020.

Her work has been presented at numerous venues including Museum Ludwig (Cologne, 2023), Mill6 Foundation (Hong Kong, 2023), Kunsthalle Dessau (2023), Collection Lambert (Avignon, 2022), Fondation Kadist (Paris, 2022), Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern (2022), Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Kunsthalle Thun, Void Contemporary Art Centre (Derry Londonderry), Pablo's birthday (New York), Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Bangkok Biennale, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles (Paris), El Rastro (Madrid), Signal (Brussels), Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), MuCEM (Marseille), Fondation Fiminco (Romainnville).

Since 2016, Latitudes Productions has accompanied the development of her artistic and performative projects, while her sculptural work is represented by Galerie Eric Mouchet. Her recent performances include the Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, the TNG in Lyon, the Condition Publique in Roubaix, the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the Théâtre Nationale de la ville de Paris.

EDUCATION
2019-2020 Bachelor's degree in Art History, Panthéon Sorbonne Paris 1
2009-2013 School of Visual Arts and Design, School of Fine Arts, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan 2008-2009 Fine Arts at the Kabul University of Fine Arts, Afghanistan

[1] See Kubra Khademi: Open Letter to Woman Leaders of the World, 3rd March 2022, New York. The complete letter is printed as a wall text in the exhibition.