11 Jan – 26 Apr 2025

Nationhood:
Memory and Hope

Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK

11 Jan – 26 Apr 2025

Nationhood:
Memory and Hope

Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK

Across The UK

After its debut at Impressions Gallery in Bradford, the exhibition will tour the UK in 2025.

Aïda Muluneh’s first body of work created in Europe, The Necessity of Seeing, commissioned by Bradford 2025, will be showcased in the major exhibition Nationhood: Memory and Hope. Curated by Anne McNeill, Director of Bradford’s Impressions Gallery, this exhibition opens during the launch weekend of Bradford 2025 – marking the city’s year as the UK City of Culture. The project celebrates the rich diversity of the UK through striking photography.

Nationhood: Memory and Hope offers a wealth of insights into the UK’s four nations today, exploring how we each shape our identities and communities in an effort to create a better world.

The exhibition’s centerpiece, The Necessity of Seeing, features Muluneh’s new major collection of 22 vibrant and surreal artworks captured at iconic locations in Bradford, Belfast, Cardiff, and Glasgow. These layered images, characterized by Muluneh’s bold use of primary colors and body painting, reveal the overlooked stories, forgotten histories, and quiet moments that shape identity and community.

In this body of work, I present a variety of narratives that create space for others to see beyond the surface. I invite viewers to question their own perceptions and engage with the profound truths that often go unnoticed.

Nationhood: Memory and Hope also features captivating new portraits by seven emerging UK photographers, Shaun Connell and Roz Doherty (Bradford), Chad Alexander (Belfast), Robin Chaddah-Duke and Grace Springer (Cardiff) and Miriam Ali and Haneen Hadiy (Glasgow) each offering unique perspectives on identity and community in contemporary Britain. These rising stars bring fresh voices and perspectives to the exhibition, capturing the vibrant diversity and complexity of their cities. Their work complements Muluneh’s thought-provoking series and enriches the narrative of Nationhood: Memory and Hope.

This special project is a collaboration with renowned photography galleries: Belfast Exposed, Ffotogallery in Cardiff, and Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow.

Portrait Of Us

By Aïda Muluneh

These people of Britain showed me that, to evolve as a society, it is our responsibility to continue illuminating the shadows of our collective past and bring buried stories to light... My intention with this work is to reflect what is visible, while also revealing the invisible forces that shape our world. Every frame reflects the whispers of quiet truths that linger beneath the surface, waiting to be seen.”

Visit Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK

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