Susan Hefuna - XCULTURAL CODES

XCULTURAL CODES is the first one-person exhibition in the UK by acclaimed German/Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna. It includes new and recent works in a wide range of media - photography, drawing, video and sculpture.

Hefuna embraces themes of identity, difference and diaspora, reflecting her own dual European/African heritage. She subtly questions whether globalisation and the acceleration of technological ‘advances’ actually bring us any closer to understanding the lived experience of people in different countries, with different cultures, with increasingly complex histories and backgrounds.

Resisting the notion of a comfortable ‘melting pot’ or ‘global village’, she draws on her own experiences to explore how the meaning of the everyday, such as household objects or neighbourhood scenery, can change when forces outside our control come into play. By focusing on elements that may be considered ‘exotic’ from one perspective, and mundane from another, she melds the inner and outer worlds of the experience of the ‘displaced’, the ‘migrant’ and the ‘foreigner’, illuminating the intensity and complexity of their relationship in the process.

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue published in English and German by Kehrer Verlag. The publication includes an essay on Susan Hefuna’s work by Bluecoat Director, Bryan Biggs.

We gratefully acknowledge funding support for the exhibition from the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen Pressetext

Susan Hefuna - XCULTURAL CODES