East Wing is thrilled to be collaborating with Galleri Image in Aarhus, Denmark!
FROM THE GROUND UP
Curated by East Wing’s Artistic Director, Peggy Sue Amison, the exhibition features the works by:
Laeïla Adjovi (Benin/ France), Aideen Barry (Ireland), Adrian L. Burrell (United States), Rehab Eldalil (Egypt), Tobi Onabolu (UK/Nigeria) and Tshepiso Moropa (South Africa).
If you stop and listen the past will speak to you, and the voices will help you make sense of your life in the present.
The connection between nature and culture manifest in a many ways, spanning values, beliefs, and behaviours. The impact of these networks on society extends to the ways knowledge is processed and language is used. The links between cultural systems and our environment means that if one shifts or changes, the other responds accordingly. For ancient civilisations, there was no separation between nature and culture, whereas today, we often view them as separate or even opposites.
© Laeila Adjovi ” A Prayer to the River” from, “The Roads of Yemoja” (2018 ongoing).
© Tobi Onabolu “Dance Gently, for the Land Belongs to the King” from “Danse Macabre” (2023)
© Adrian L. Burrell, “The Changing Same” (2022)
© Rehab Eldalil “The Longing of the Stranger Whose Path Has Been Broken”
In “From the Ground Up,” the artists explore how cultures are directly connected to nature and knowledge. The works consider how the loss of ancient wisdom responds to changing biodiversity, recognising the growing need to connect with past histories in order to explain present challenges in day-to-day life. Creating deeper connections to the natural world is essential belonging and groundedness.
Through photography, video, and performance, the artists investigate intricate relationships between society and nature, exploring how these nuanced connections contribute to the shaping of biodiversity and also effect other aspects of civilisation through artistic expression, cultural evolution, social justice, and the survival of fragile ecosystems.
© Tshepiso Moropa “Stranger Fruit” (2025) from the series “Ditoro”.
© Aideen Barry “The Song of the Bleeding Tree” (2023 – 2024).
Galleri Image will arrange a seminar on Saturday, 27 September 2025 in Øst for Paradis – Art Cinema with the artists and curator present.
Galleri Image will also host an artist talk and exhibition tour with artists Aideen Barry & Rehab Eldalil in conversation with Peggy Sue Amison on Saturday, August 23 2025 from 2-4 pm.
The exhibition is supported by the New Carlsberg Foundation, the city of Aarhus (Kulturudviklingspuljen), the Danish Arts Foundation, the Obel Family Foundation, the Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, East Wing and Culture Ireland.
