LONGINGS: Muzammil Hussain, Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad, Jaasir Linger, Sofiia Dubyna, Muyang Teng, István Hutter, Siomara Ratna van Bochove, Sam Zanardo
About this activity.
SIGN presents: Longings , from January 24 to February 23
Co-Curator: Aura Baltrušaitytė
Opening: Friday January 24 at 5:00 PM
With soto, Javanese-Surinamese soup!
“A deep feeling that moves between the tangible and the intangible, a yearning that resounds in our hearts, is longing. This feeling is an inescapable part of our daily lives, woven through the fabric of our existence and affects us all...
The new mural constellations by Muzammil Hussain, Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad, Jaasir Linger and Sofiia Dubyna and associated video works by Muyang Teng, István Hutter, Siomara Ratna van Bochove and Sam Zanardo can be seen at he exhibition from January 24. The official opening is from 5:00 PM that day.
This project was created in collaboration with co-curator: Aura Baltrušaitytė (master Art History & Curatorial Studies, University of Groningen).
Artists
Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad & István Hutter
Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad is a nomad of many worlds. Born from the blood of a Russian mother and an Afghan father, her roots are steeped in the eternal steppes of Kazakhstan, where the spirit distances itself from the given gender. At the age of twelve she crossed the borders to the Netherlands. Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad's works express a deep desire for identity and belonging, drawing from her multicultural roots, and challenging traditional gender representations. Through her exploration of femininity, she seeks to reclaim personal stories, celebrating “the human body and the boundless complexity of the soul.” At SIGN she presents her new wall textile “Through the Body I Remember”.
Mokhammad's intimate journey intersects with István Hutter's video installation 'Disquiet', which explores the concerns of contemporary life and the absurdities of social media. Hutter's triptych presents a multitude of narrative combinations that reflect core human instincts such as reproduction, social connection and self-preservation. Hutter's commentary on modern absurdity, combined with Dakota's exploration of femininity and self-discovery, creates a rich dialogue about the human desire for connection and the complexity of identity in an increasingly fragmented world.
Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad graduated from the St.Joost Academy, Den Bosch in 2024.
István Hutter graduated from MA Fine Arts – HKU University of the Arts, Utrecht in 2023.
Jaasir Linger & Siomara Ratna from Bochove
The new installation 'Ingo op'a liba' (Surinamese Sranantongo for 'the native winsti opens the river') by Jaasir Linger is a tribute to the Surinamese Ingi Winti and consists of materials used in rituals in the traditional Afro-Surinamese Winti religion. For example, the white 'pembadoti' (kaolin) is a remedy that is used in almost every Winti ritual. Winti spirituality and culture is central to Linger's artistic practice and life, and all his artworks contain elements and symbolism from Winti. Winti originated during transatlantic slavery on the plantations of the former Dutch colony of Suriname, where West African enslaved people (Linger's ancestors) had to perform forced labor under appalling conditions. The Dutch colonial government had banned Winti by law until 1971 and labeled it as idolatry. In addition, Winti confessors were stigmatized by the church as devil worshipers. 54 years ago, Jaasir Linger would have gone to prison for his works of art. Through his art, Linger tries to introduce Winti to the world in a positive way, as a counterweight to the still existing negative image of Winti created by the former Dutch colonial government and Christian church. With his art, Linger tries to contribute to the preservation, transfer and rehabilitation of the Winti heritage.
This artwork is accompanied by the film 'The Water Brought Us' by artist Siomara Ratna van Bochove. This film examines colonial history, slavery and forced migration, especially in the regions between Suriname, Africa, Indonesia and the Netherlands. The film highlights the colonial past and forced migration and goes beyond the gruesome story of slavery. It questions another side of it: how did people feel at that time; did they see a hopeful future in the unknown that awaited forced migrants? Van Bochove's presentation also includes a soundscape and zine to better understand the legacy of transatlantic slavery. Jaasir's Ingi op'a liba together with 'The Water Brought Us' bridges the former colony with the mainland, combines histories and reveals a longing for identity and connection.
Jaasir Linger and Siomara Ratna van Bochove graduated in 2023 from Master of Arts, Blacker Blackness – Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam
Sofia Dubyna & Sam Zanardo
Sofiia Dubyna's paintings explore the border between innocent admiration and moral ambiguity in personal relationships. She creates portraits using friends' makeup (objects containing their DNA) as a way to 'keep them close', which can be seen as both tender and disturbingly possessive. Her works often feature nudity and fetishize her models, who are unaware of their involvement until the portraits are revealed. This approach, which borders on obsession, delves into the complexity of friendship and intimacy. Also in the series 'Exploring the Interaction Between Close Individuals Through Observational Distance', Sofiia experiences herself as a secondary personality, someone who can observe and yet remains unseen. She wants to 'bring back to life' the inner desires and instincts of the depicted models, which inevitably reveal themselves sooner or later’.
The film installation 'An ancestral image of blood', but also a face by Sam Zanardo unfolds across seven screens arranged in the SIGN space through a choreographic and rhythmic approach. Viewers are invited to navigate between the images, creating multiple interrelationships between sounds and images. A new story unfolds each time. His work explores different storylines in which diverse but interconnected fragments come together. The body is often the starting point in Zanardo's work: it raises questions about identity, gender and sexuality. It is dynamic and embodies the contradictions of pain, pleasure and transformation, in relation to the sacredness of the everyday, and its entanglements with contemporary technology and society. Inspired by the research of philosopher/activist Simone Weil on holiness and devotion and of philosopher and curator Paul Preciado on identity politics.
Sofiia Dubyna graduated from Bachelor in Fine Art, AKI ArtEZ Academy for Art and Design in 2023, and is currently a second-year student at Master Painting, Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen. Sam Zanardo graduated from ArtEZ BEAR (Basis for Experiment, Art and Research), Arnhem in 2024.
Muzammil Hussain & Muyang Teng
Muzammil Hussain combines animal qualities and silhouettes with human qualities and everyday objects to explore themes of identity and existence. He sees animals as a universal language – accessible to all genders, ages and nationalities – to create human-animal hybrids. Combining everyday scenarios inspired by popular culture with animal imagery, Hussain's painted figures offer a layered commentary on identity and the human experience. In his new work The Half; mirrors with praying mantises, he literally reflects this fact directly to the viewer.
Complementing these explorations, Muyang Teng's video "Octopus in Drag" expands and presents the concept of hybridity through moving images that challenge fixed ideas of identity. Both artists' hybrids are inspired by the popular culture that surrounds humanity: Hussain's hybrids are infused with hip-hop aesthetics, while Teng's mythical cat/octopus creature draws inspiration from vogue and queerness. At the heart of this film are fluid images that search for new forms of identity and existence that go beyond binary categories.
Muzammil Hussain graduated from Master Painting, Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen in 2024. Muyang Teng graduated from the Lens Based Department, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam in 2024.
SIGN.
SIGN is een levendige en experimentele projectruimte voor actuele interdisciplinaire kunst op nationaal niveau. Zij biedt jonge kunstenaars een podium voor verdere profilering, ontwikkeling en intensivering van hun kunstenaarschap. Daarbij wordt nieuw werk geïnitieerd in bijzondere contexten en wordt de nodige reflectie gegeven. Presentaties zijn er in SIGN, op allerlei locaties, en in openbare ruimte met een variatie aan omstandigheden, invalshoeken, disciplines.
SIGN wordt ondersteund door Mondriaan Fonds Kunstpodium Basis 2021-2022 en ook voor de periode 2023-2024
Location.
SIGN
Winschoterkade 10
9711 EA Groningen
tel 050-3132651
www.sign2.nl