In recent years, the star of this versatile Lebanese-Dutch artist has been rising fast in the international art world. In 2023, she was nominated for the Artes Mundi 10 prize, and she won the ABN Amro Art Award. In 2024, she created works for the Lebanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale. In A land as big as her skin, Al Solh is combining those large-scale installations with new work made especially for this presentation.
From ancient myths to pop music
The work of Al Solh refuses to be pigeonholed. She moves with ease between small and personal incidents, collective memories and political developments. She brings together everyday life and ancient myths from the Mediterranean, thus proving that hope, culture and stories know no bounds. She also retains great freedom in her choice of materials and techniques, and makes paintings, sculptures, videos, performances and textile works. Yet in all her diverse projects, Al Solh has a recognisable and cohesive style. Her work is colourful and amusing, with a love of craftsmanship and material. It feels like music: it is rhythmical, whirling and melodious.
wooden boat and mast, sail (organic red textile, beige cotton canvas & embroidered cotton), fishing cages, sage and bay leaves, plastic, bottles, video, color, sound, fired ceramic, glazed and painted donkey head, variable dimensions
fired ceramics, glazed and painted, painted wood, oil and charcoal on canvas, embroidered textiles, various dimensions
oil and charcoal on canvas, 180 × 300 cm
fired ceramics, glazed and painted, installation including ironing board, lamp, textiles, mattress, hookah, variable dimensions
oil charcoal pencil pigment and turmeric on canvas, 119 × 171.5 cm
embroidered textiles hanging with system, 400 × 100 cm, each
embroderies on textiles, audio installation, various dimensions
three pieces of canvas (stretched), oil and charcoal on canvas, left section: 180 × 200 cm, middle section: 100 × 60 cm, right section: 180 × 180 cm
Lebanon and the Netherlands
Mounira Al Solh grew up in a war-torn Lebanon. This painful history and the continuing violence in the region are always reflected in her work. She advocates for equality, justice and nuanced representation. Her works are nearly always melancholic and hopeful at the same time, revolving around the theme of resilience. Al Solh’s work is often a reflection of a world that bears the deep marks of oppression and abuse of power. She explores themes like identity, trauma and inequality, which arise from factors like gender, origin and social class, or a combination of them.
Mounira Al Solh studied painting at the Lebanese University in Beirut. She then came to the Netherlands, where she studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. Nowadays, she divides her time between Lebanon and the Netherlands. In her art, Al Solh combines both Lebanese and Dutch elements.
19 embroidered and painted bags, 90 × 50 cm, each
19 channel video installation, color, sound, ca. 3 min each
charcoal on paper, 250 × 150 cm
charcoal on paper, 250 × 150 cm
Publication Mounira Al Solh: A land as big as her skin
A lavishly illustrated artist’s publication named after the exhibition will be published at the end of 2025. It will contain reflections on Al Solh’s new work and discuss the artist’s current position in her practice.
The book will comprise several essays, gallery overviews of her exhibition at the Bonnefanten and new work made especially for this exhibition.
Premiere in Bonnefanten: Ammodo Docs: Dancing on the Ruins
Together with director Bibi Fadlalla, Ammodo Docs made the impressive short documentary Dancing on the Ruins about and with Mounira Al Solh. They follow Al Solh on her exploratory journey at the Venice Biennale, in Spain and in her studio. The documentary shows the creation of new work for the exhibition at the Bonnefanten. The film will premiere at the Bonnefanten on 6 June!
Ammodo Docs is a series of artistic short documentaries about original thinkers. Renowned filmmakers challenge you to view the world through the eyes of pioneering artists and scholars.
This exhibition has received support from: The Province of Limburg, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, VriendenLoterij, Sharjah Art Foundation, Ammodo Art and Mondriaan Fund
Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij