On November 7th, the third artist in residence joined All all all Tryouts. Zahna Siham Benamor’s exhibition, Se havet som kulisse, som et cellofanhav, som en elefant, som din mave spist af en krokodille og begravet under et træ, som en shaman, som en scene, marks her first solo exhibition, which forms the structure for two performances, functioning as two acts of the same show, where she embodies an exaggerated shamanic figure, performing a surreal fable about her own destiny.

During the first two weeks of her residency, Siham will recreate a cave from the Tassili n'Ajjer desert in Algeria as a total installation within the space. On November 21, the installation will culminate in her first performance, after which the exhibition will be completed. A mirror monolith in the centre of the installation stands as a symbol of both resistance and worship, while also evoking an oasis in the desert. The cave references an advanced prehistoric civilisation, while the monolith offers a glimpse into the future. It represents the resurrection of the suppressed—like a sea breaking through the cave’s surface—and serves as Siham’s inspiration for practicing resistance in the present.

Drawing from the Algerian author Yamina Mechakra’s La Grotte éclatée, a narrative about the Algerian War of Liberation where the cave acts as a refuge for the wounded seeking shelter from colonial forces, Siham uses the cave as a symbol for a new world—one where the exiled shape a more humane future. With roots in Algeria, Siham’s artistic practice is grounded in the understanding that division is a universal human condition. From this premise, she explores the eternal tension between the known and the unknown, opening a phantom passage between the bodily and the mystical, revealing the false representation: the gap between what we tell ourselves and reality.

‍

The exhibition is kindly supported by Ny Carlsbergfondet.

‍