Berlinische Galerie

In her work, Monira Al Qadiri focuses on the sociocultural impacts of the oil industry as well as its past and future. She has been researching and working on this topic for more than ten years and has shaped the discourse around oil, patriarchy, and globalization. Her works reflect on the connections between the establishment of oil as the leading fossil fuel in the middle of the twentieth century and the expansion of consumer capitalism in the post-war period. She often bases her art on autobiographical experiences, including life in Kuwait in the 1980s and 1990s, and critically examines prevailing historical and political narratives. Addressing the issue of oil invariably involves addressing the history of human interaction with the earth, both its exploitation and its resistance. For the Berlinische Galerie, Al Qadiri is developing a site-specific installation – consisting of a large-format mural, objects, and sound – in which oil is far more than just a ‘resource’. It also symbolizes the violence, memories, and individual stories linked to its extraction.