'Forum for world peace and other stories' is the third solo exhibition by Dinah Danish (Paris, 1981) at Stigter van Doesburg. Raised in Cairo, she did a residency at the Rijksacademie of Fine Arts from 2007-2008 and has lived in Amsterdam ever since. Danish's art is curious, and project-based. In her multi-media work, she focuses on language and structure, using humor and ambiguity. She relates to the world like a socially conscious Alice in Wonderland:
“I am struck by the eventfulness of today’s state of the world: having been locked up, followed by a war, gas prices going up, the crowning of a king, the list is endless. I am witnessing extremely important historical events and feel the urge to document them. Or else I might forget. And so, I collect news imagery daily. The images sometimes depict trivial topics such as such as a Mondriaan painting found to be hung upside down for 75 years, but also politicians on top of their podiums, giving press conferences, signing protocol agreements, shaking hands, and posing for their election campaigns. What I find most appealing about this imagery is that it is a globally familiar one. The suits, the handshakes, and the backgrounds say the same thing worldwide: politicians have met up and agreed upon something that will likely change the course of our lives. Like medieval heraldic banners, the structure of the imagery remains the same, but the content changes slightly depending on which heraldic representation is represented.” (DD 2023)
Seven of these banners will be exhibited in the gallery, and the contrast between the ultimate craftsmanship and the ephemerality of a new photograph acts as an assault on time. The meticulous handling of ribbon, fabric and color lends the subjects an eternity value that the average news photograph lacks. She also suggests that in terms of depicting and representing political events, not much has changed. Dinah Danish ironizes both form and content and allows us to move in that which was, is and will be.
Dina Danish (1981) was born in Paris, raised in Egypt and currently works and lives in Amsterdam, NL. She completed her BA in Arts at the American University in Cairo, EG and her MA in Fine Arts Painting and Drawing at the California College of the Arts, San Fransisco, US. She participated in the two-year artist residency program at Rijks Akademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (2009/10). Recent solo and group exhibitions include: The Abraaj Group Art Prize, Dubai and Madrid (2016), “The Poet Who Wanted to be Burried Underneath a Pinball Machine”, Stigter Van Doesburg, Amsterdam, NL (2016), “A Place in the Sun”, Nile Sunset Annex, Cairo, EG (2015), “Double Bubble Gum”, Barbara Seiler Gallery, Zurich, CH (2015), “Where The Sun Hits The Water”, Galerie Scharmann & Laskowski, Cologne, DE (2016), SFMOMA & MOMA, Celebration of Publication, San Francisco and New York, US (2013), “Replay: Back in 10 Minutes”, SpazioA, Pistoia, IT (2012), “Not in A Million Years”, Jeanine Hofland Contemporary Art, Amsterdam (2012). Danish received the “Curator’s Choice Celeste Prize” Rome, IT (2012). She is also the winner of the “Illy Present Future Award” Artissima 18 with Jeanine Hofland Contemporary Art, Turin, IT (2011) and the “Barclay Simpson Award”, San Francisco (CA), US (2008). She was shortlisted for The Abraaj Group Art Prize (2016) and nominated for The Volkskrant Art Award (2015).