M Leuven to open major retrospective by Wael Shawky

25 February 2022

From 11 March 2022, M Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, will present a major solo exhibition of Wael Shawky's work from the past 25 years.

Deeply rooted in his own observations of social change in his native Egypt and the Middle East, his drawings, sculptures, installations, films and performances touch on themes that form the basis for social and political notions of 'progress' such as identity, religion, history and geopolitics. The exhibition at M Leuven, titled 'Dry Culture Wet Culture' features new drawings and an in-situ installation work, as well as works from Shawky's film trilogy Cabaret Crusades (2010-2016). There will also be rarely seen works, all projects in which Shawky frames contemporary culture from a historical perspective and vice versa, such as the film The Cave (2005).

Find further information via M Leuven.

Image: Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades: Drawing #602, 2021 (detail), Graphite, Ink, oil, mixed media on cotton paper © Wael Shawky