Female Gaze Tour with Narges Mohammadi

Through Someone Else’s Eyes

In the exhibition Titanic & Fashion, you can see historical clothing full of splendor and luxury — garments for different times of day, made for the upper class. But you’ll also find the simple designs and fabrics worn by people from the lower classes more than a century ago — modest clothing that was repaired over and over until it was completely worn out. Regional dress worn by migrants, people who had to find a new sense of belonging and take root again.

Join the conversation about the human stories behind the pieces in the exhibition. Who were the people who made these clothes? And how can clothing help shape a new sense of home?

Narges Mohammadi

The work of Narges Mohammadi (°1993, somewhere between Kabul and Tehran, AF) is rooted in her personal history, shaped by experiences from two very different cultures. She draws from the endlessly rich in-between space she inhabits. In her monumental installations, she expresses the ambiguity of life, with memories, togetherness, comfort, loss, mourning, traditions, and alternative forms of exchange at the core.

Her sculptures, often composed in series, consist of unexpected yet familiar materials: halva, concrete, rubber, clay, and soap. Narges works with discipline and large quantities of a single material, from which she forms objects — encapsulating them, covering them, or carving them out. The materiality of her spatial installations creates a certain lightness — or, conversely, a sense of weight.

As a sculptor of memory, Narges translates a wide range of experiences into tributes to, for example, her childhood room, home care, and Persian traditions. In doing so, she creates space for the viewer to engage in contemplation, empathy, reflection, and introspection. The layered nature of the intimate experiences from her life is conveyed in a visually accessible way, allowing the viewer to become part of a (un)familiar story.