Statement:

The Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of the French-Iranian artist Chalisée Naamani (*1995 in Paris/FR) in Switzerland with «Octogone».

Through superimposition and collage of fabrics, images and texts, Chalisée Naamani creates objects that are reminiscent of garments or refer to the history of textile art, but without ever being destined to be used: 

as sculptural vêtements-images («picture dresses»), as she calls the artist herself, the carefully hand-sewn and embroidered works become a pure projection surface. 

Naamani’s references range from political protest movements, Persian and Christian iconographies to images from pop culture or private family archives.///

On the one hand, Naamani addresses the circulation of images and symbols in a globalized world through migration, social media and the mechanisms of the fashion industry through the combination of these heterogeneous sources in the textile medium. 

On the other hand, fashion is understood as a political field in which the body, power and cultural significance meet, code and are repeatedly negotiated.

The exhibition title «Octogone» also refers to the so-called Zurkhaneh. 

As a place of cultural resistance, this traditional Iranian training room with octagonal ring forms the spatial and conceptual framework of the presentation of Naamani, which combines current sculptures, prints and textile works.

The exhibition «Octogone» by Chalisée Naamani is a cooperation of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen with the Palais de Tokyo, Paris/FR and the Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna/AT.