I sometimes depict violence, but always in a gentle way. What interests me is the fine line between our fears and our desires. I've come to realize that what we're attracted to often frightens us. I like to depict our reactions to situations of danger or anxiety. This is the underlying and main subject of my work: what deals with our fears and pushes us to react like animals. – Sanam Khatibi
Sanam Khatibi’s work explores notions of animality and the primal impulses that we all share. At the core of her practice is a questioning of our relationship with power structures, and the duality of triumph and failure. The recurrent themes that feature in her work are chaos, destruction, excess, loss of control, domination, and submission. Khatibi is also interested in the thin line that exists between fear and desire, and how closely they are interrelated.
Her subjects live on their impulses, set within alluring, exotic, and dangerous landscapes. Wildlife and animals are an integral part of her practice, and her figures are often depicted within the same plane as the flora and fauna. Power, violence, and sensuality mingle, intermix, and overlap with each other ambiguously, giving rise to multifaceted scenarios that juxtapose the animal and the human, past and present, cruelty and seduction.
Her practice consists of paintings, embroideries, tapestries, sculptures, and installations.
Sanam Khatibi (Belgian with Iranian heritage) lives and works in Brussels.
Her recent solo shows include: Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2022); Groeninge Museum, Bruges (2021); Kunsthal Gent (2020); Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels (2019); Musée d'art de la Province de Hainaut, BPS22, Charleroi (2019); P.P.O.W, New York (2019).
Khatibi’s work has also been part of institutional group shows in National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2022); Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort (2022); Centraal Museum, Utrecht (2021); S.M.A.K., Ghent (2021); Kortrijk Triennial (2021); Kunstverein Dresden (2020); Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) (2020); 16th Istanbul Biennial (2019); Centre Régional d’Art Contemporaine (CRAC) Occitaine, Sète (2018); Musée d’Art Contemporain (MAC), Marseille (2018); Museum of Deinze and the Leie region (2016).
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Linhas Tortas
Curated by Diana Campbell 2/09 - 4/11/2023 São PauloLinhas Tortas is a multi-venue international group exhibition that celebrates the entanglements of journeys and the power of storytelling, marking a decade of Mendes Wood DM. Inspired by the Brazilian...View Exhibition -
Linhas Tortas
Curated by Diana Campbell 2/09 - 11/11/2023 Casa IramaiaLinhas Tortas is a multi-venue international group exhibition that celebrates the entanglements of journeys and the power of storytelling, marking a decade of Mendes Wood DM. Inspired by the Brazilian...View Exhibition -
Paper Trails
Group Show 29/07 - 8/08/2023 Retranchement / D'Ouwe KerkeOpen every day | 11am to 6pm d'Ouwe Kerke Dorpsstraat 16 4525 AH Retranchement The Netherlands Osama Alrayyan, Laís Amaral, Lucas Arruda, Patricia Ayres, Alvaro Barrington, Paloma Bosquê, Castiel Vitorino...View Exhibition -
In my dreams, I kill him every night
Sanam Khatibi 4/06 - 6/08/2022 São PauloSanam Khatibi’s work explores notions of animality and the primal impulses that we all share. At the core of her practice is a questioning of our relationship with power structures,...View Exhibition
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