Basim Magdy Would a Firefly Fear the Fire that Burns in Its Heart?

Basim Magdy (1977 in Assiut, Egypt)—the Deutsche Bank’s 2016 “Artist of the Year”—has already presented his multifaceted oeuvre in numerous international group exhibitions. These include the biennales in Sharjah and Istanbul in 2013, the Biennale de Montréal in 2014, as well as the exhibitions Welcome to the Jungle at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, and Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Magdy’s films, photographs, and drawings focus on structures of seeing, remembering, and archiving. His works often call to mind surreal narratives full of abysmal humor. The artist uses his psychedelically colored pictures and montages to scrutinize collective utopias and express doubt about dogmas and ideologies. At the same time, he appeals to the viewer’s power of imagination and causes alternative realities and designs for society to shine out.