Artist’s Room: Bani Abidi

Bani Abidi’s Artist’s Room displays a single body of work, Trembling hands (2024). Trembling hands is a series of portraits of artists, journalists, politicians, lawyers, doctors and civil society leaders who publicly spoke out against the genocide of Palestinians, often using public platforms that exposed them to backlash, censorship or repression. Drawn in 2024, the portraits primarily refer to speeches made in late 2023 and early 2024 during the most brutal and deadly period of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, also characterised by widespread international inaction. Some of the speakers depicted by Abidi are Palestinian; others spoke in solidarity. Sketched from video interviews and first-hand accounts, Abidi’s portraits incorporate multiple frames and images into one, fixing the moving image onto paper. Some drawings leave out the speaker’s face, focusing only on their hands holding an object or a piece of paper to read from. Depicting shaking and stuttering figures, the trembling image conveys the emotions and tension that come with public acts of bravery. About Artists’ Rooms Drawn largely from the Art Jameel Collection, Artists’ Rooms is a series of solo exhibitions by influential, innovative artists, with a particular focus on practitioners from West Asia and South Asia. These capsule shows are collaborative and curated in dialogue with the artist. About the artist Bani Abidi (b. 1971) uses video and photography to comment upon politics and culture, often through humorous and absurd vignettes. Abidi studied visual art at the National College of Arts in Lahore and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives and works between Berlin, Germany and Karachi, Pakistan. Image credits Bani Abidi, Trembling hands (Jonathan Glazer’s Acceptance speech, Oscars, 11.3.2024), 2024, chalk pastel on paper. Art Jameel Collection SEE ALL EVENTS