Silent Scream, Wafae Ahalouch, 2018
Ijpromenade 2, Amsterdam
June 22 – September 1
Framer Framed
Ijpromenade 2, Amsterdam
Free entry.
The Silent Scream is based on an image Ahalouch found in the archives of the French medical photographer and chemist Albert Londe. The picture, which dates back to the second half of the 19th century, shows a woman screaming. It was made as part of an investigation into what was then referred to as ‘the women’s condition’, Hysteria (‘symptoms’ of which included sexual desire, irritability or ‘a tendency to cause trouble’). For Ahalouch, this ‘screaming in silence’ symbolizes the repressed condition of women worldwide, as their voices are often silenced and their predicaments disregarded. – zich niet durven uitspreken
The black circles (or holes) are a reoccurring theme/element in Ahalouchs’ work, which she is interested in for their universal as well as layered characteristics – in form, circles are simultaneously open and closed, and in symbolic value they often refer to the eternal or the divine.
The work was initially made for the billboard biennale in Casablanca (Marocco, 2015) that was specifically aimed at claiming space for women in public. The work challenges current societal power structures and demands the right to be heard, regardless of gender, questioning what it means to have a voice, when it remains unheard.
Wafae Ahalouch is born in Tanger (Marocco) and lives and works in Amsterdam. Her drawings, paintings, installations and sculptures, show a personal vision on an estranged world. History, religion, politics, film, fairytales, familystructures and the media are important themes in her work. Ahalouch often works in series, in which she combines a variety of narratives to create new images and stories.