Tala Madani: RIP Image: Moderna Museet, Malmö, Sweden

In her oeuvre Tala Madani (born 1981) addresses political subjects, including power structures, masculinity and group dynamics. The contrast between humour and seriousness, play and harsh reality is ever-present in Madani’s artistic rendering of veritably ritualistic, often absurd situations that oscillate between the figurative and the abstract. Madani’s small paintings invite the viewer to attend situations in which the power structures and masculine roles are inverted. The men interact in ways that move us from laughter to reflection. Complex structures and emotional layers are added to each other until the given outcomes are annulled. Tala Madani’s larger paintings often portray large groups of people, abstract gatherings where the individual is partly obliterated.