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I DANMARK ER JEG FØDT DER HAR JEG HJEMME
Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Afgang24, Group show, 2024
Mixed media installation
Proceeding from an autoethnographic approach, Sahar Jamili’s practice delves into the intricate layers of identity, critically examining their own personal history and experiences and its entanglements within broader political, social, and cultural structures. As a Dane with roots in Azerbaijan, their upbringing in Copenhagen has been profoundly shaped by their resistance to the discriminatory policies of the Danish government, and the racist habits and perceptions of many of its people. Jamili often produce scenographic displays where a wide range of materials and artistic mediums congregate, drawing aesthetics from underground subcultures and daily life. Jamili’s work is deeply rooted in storytelling, addressing the physical and symbolic violences in society, and the collective power of communities that erupt underground in resistance to oppression. The dense installation I DANMARK ER JEG FØDT, DÉR HAR JEG HJEMME (IN DENMARK I WAS BORN, THAT'S WHERE I'M AT HOME) provocatively redefines the narrative of what it means to be Danish, appropriating its title from H.C. Andersen’s unofficial national anthem to assert the artist’s agency and identity in their homeland. The installation intertwines ready-made objects, acquisitions from Azerbaijan, sculptures sourced from the USSR, as well as crafted metal sculptures such as a human sized hamster wheel and birdcage, as well as prints, a video shot in Baku, and other works by the artist; they often recycle previous works to see how they change in different contexts and continue to resonate. Alongside rugs and curtains from Azerbaijan and family photographs and artifacts, everything in the domestic scene collectively represents Jamili’s lived reality within the Danish
context, functioning as a self-portrait that renders visible the complexity and conflictual experience of the self. A posse of standing middle fingers cast in aluminum are spread throughout the installation, deploying the obscene hand gesture not only as a symbol of contempt, but also as a blunt and unencumbered assertion of their right to shape the narrative of their own identity, reclaiming ownership of Danish experience. Key to this work is an exploration into how structural violence and inequalities within society infiltrates the home, bringing into view notions of safety and the manifestation of emotional, physical, and psychological trauma on a personal, intimate level, as well as within local and global environments. Here, torturous yet playful devices of confinement and images of marginalization and anger commingle with supportive, sentimental, and mundane objects from both Denmark and Azerbaijan. Weaving together their experience through various fragments and interconnected objects, the sculptural tableaux demonstrates life's complex tapestry, where beauty and anguish coexist in harmonious disarray. In doing so, Jamili prompts a reflection on the multiplicity of Danish identity, which encompasses a spectrum of experiences, each as valid and unique as their own.
Text by Post.Brothers (Matthew Post)
