Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology

What does it mean to be a woman in Algeria? That question has followed artist Amina Zoubir throughout her upbringing in the country, evolving to an essential orientation within her artistry through video, performance in public space, sculptures, drawings and installations. Growing up in the 1980s and the 90s, she witnessed a violent era of civil war between the government and various Islamic groups changing the society and its public sphere. A war through which Algerian women operated in different roles, while the legacy of a long brutal colonial history with France continued to foster a misogynist society. Hence, social and gender related matters in contemporary Algerian society are very much affiliated with postcolonial issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=2kk8uC7M2sA&feature=emb_logo
Conversation between Amina Zoubir and Joanna Sandell, director Södertälje konsthall on the exhibition Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology. April 27, 2020.

<figcaption> View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020 © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020 © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. Amina Zoubir, Forgotten figure #Kahena, 2014. White plaster sculpture, 22 x 14 x 10 cm. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. Amina Zoubir, Forgotten figure #Lalla N'soumer. Installation of wallpaper. Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. Amina Zoubir, Forgotten figure #Tin Hinan (detail), 2020. White plaster and paper, variable dimensions. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> Amina Zoubir, My body is not for sale #16, 2020. Collages on paper, 24 x 30 cm. View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> Amina Zoubir, My body is not for sale #17, 2020. Collages on paper, 24 x 30 cm. View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> Amina Zoubir, My body is not for sale #18, 2020. Collages on paper, 24 x 30 cm. View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.

<figcaption> Amina Zoubir, My body is not for sale #20, 2020. Collages on paper, 24 x 30 cm. View of Amina Zoubir taking a stance on berber queens: history and mythology at Södertälje Konsthall, 2020. © Amina Zoubir, ADAGP Paris.</figcaption></figure>
*The text above is an excerpt fromthe curatorial essay of the exhibition written by Sara Rossling, independent curator and writer. Amina Zoubir wants to thank the Swedish Arts Grants Committee's International Program supporting international exchange for practitioners in the areas of visual art, design, craft and architecture.