Slipping on Fragmented Shapes

"Hoda Kashiha: Slipping on Fragmented Shapes is published in conjunction with the exhibition I'm Here, I'm Not Here at Passerelle Centre d’Art Contemporain, held in 2022. The show marked Kashiha’s first solo public exhibition in Europe. Developing a distinctive form of pop painting that moves freely between uninhibited Cubism and a cartoon-like visual language, Kashiha presents works that appear playful at first glance but reveal darker, more enigmatic, and deeply symbolic layers upon closer examination. Humour is a recurring strategy in her practice—one that fosters intimacy with viewers while enabling her to address serious and sensitive questions rooted in the social context and political climate of her home country. Her paintings also engage universal concerns, including gender relations and the place of women in society. For Kashiha, her protagonists become activists without ever speaking: they assert their differences openly and remain steadfastly optimistic. With her exuberant use of forms and colour, Kashiha creates an explosive blend of genres in which Picasso seems to drift into the world of Minecraft, joyfully dismantling the conventions of the past. The catalogue features extensive illustrations along with a selection of drawings and preparatory studies that reveal the methods behind her compositions, which are often constructed like collages. Multiple layers intersect, cut-out shapes emerge, and images evolve through a combination of hand-drawing and digital manipulation."