Artists couple Susanne Khalil Yusef and WONNE lived together for eight years. Like many artist couples, they drew inspiration from one another, and their collaboration extended into their home. They created various pieces together: a ceramic barbecue, flower pots, a fountain, furniture, cushions, sculptures, and paintings. After their relationship ended, these objects, once symbols of their shared life, became the centrepiece of Love for Sale. The exhibition transforms the gallery into a "museum of love," a domestic installation where visitors can explore and reflect on the personal history behind each object. Alongside this gesamtkunstwerk, Khalil Yusef and WONNE also display their individual works.
Susanne Khalil Yusef (1984) makes immersive, colourful installations by combining a wide range of media such as murals, ceramics, textiles and sculptures. At first glance, Yusef’s brightly coloured work seems lighthearted and playful, but if you look closer, it refers to distress and dangerous situations. In her work, she raises critical questions about themes such as homeland and displacement, identity and socio-geographic power relations. The stories in her work are closely related to her own biography – such as the conflicts in her home country, Palestine, migratory flows, autonomy, Orientalism, exile, and colonial situations.
WONNE (1996) lives and works in Nijmegen. His expressive and colourful sculptures utilise various materials and techniques, including ceramic sculptures, drawings on paper, paintings, and digital works. His process is intuitive, representing what emerges from his mind, resulting in touching and rebellious figures. WONNE’s spontaneous approach and defiance are reminiscent of the COBRA movement. From October onwards, a new series of his ceramic works will be displayed at the COBRA Museum in Amstelveen.