Elias Sime

Echo የገደል ማሚቶ

12 Feb – 1 June 2025

Elias Sime
Elias Sime, Tightrope. Behind the Processor #6, 2022, Detail

Date

12 Feb – 1 June 2025

Location

» Kunstpalast
  • Admission: 16 € / concessions 12 €

  • Children / young people under 18: free

  • Members of Friends of the Kunstpalast: free

Elias Sime, Tightrope. Behind the Flowers, 2017
Elias Sime, Tightrope. Behind the Flowers, 2017

In spring 2025, the Kunstpalast is dedicating a large-scale exhibition to the Ethiopian artist Elias Sime (*1968). In this first solo exhibition in a German-speaking country, the development of his work from the early 2000s to the present day can be traced. Since Sime’s participation in the Venice Biennale in the exhibition “The Milk of Dreams” in 2022, his work has received widespread international recognition. His art can be found in important collections such as the Metropolitan Museum, New York, Saint Louis Art Museum and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Elias Sime, Veiled Whispers, 2022
Elias Sime, Veiled Whispers, 2022

Elias Sime assembles large-format reliefs from everyday objects and discarded electronic components. The artist collects the material for this in his home city of Addis Ababa at one of Africa’s largest open-air markets. Interwoven wires, rearranged keyboard keys, collaged motherboards – Sime has developed a captivating aesthetic through the repurposing and utilization of electronic waste. The elements of his works refer to their respective journeys around the world and to the many hands through which they have passed; by which they were produced, used and recycled.

Elias Sime, Tightrope. Behind the Processor #6, 2022, Detail
Elias Sime, Tightrope. Behind the Processor #6, 2022, Detail

In his artistic practice, Sime explicitly juxtaposes the global with the local and draws attention to the influence that technology has on our society, as well as its mass consumption and its effects. He examines the complexity of various forms of communication and questions the role of interpersonal relationships. This interest is also reflected in the collaborative approach on which all of Sime’s works are based and which is practiced in his studio in Addis Ababa. A workshop at the center of the Düsseldorf presentation, where events take place and visitors can experiment with the artist’s materials and techniques, picks up on this aspect. Sime’s studio is a component of the joint project Zoma Museum, which he co-founded and which is also presented in the exhibition at the Kunstpalast and which underlines his far-reaching reputation in the African art and cultural scene.

The exhibition was initiated by the Arnolfini in Bristol and further developed for Düsseldorf. At the Biennale in Venice in 2024, the artist presented an exhibition of his most recent works in cooperation with the Kunstpalast.

Curator: Felicity Korn, Head of Collection, 20th and 21st Century