Group Exhibition | Realms of the Imaginary

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

Béchir  Boussandel
Agnes Waruguru

 

Realms of the Imaginary gathers works of two artists whose practices merge abstraction with figuration, inhabiting space between the real and the imaginary to question dominant narratives and imagine new artistic worlds. The exhibition brings together painting, installation, textile, paper, and mixed media to explore the imaginary as a place, a language, as well as a form of resistance by shaping pathways across borders, materials, and experiences.

 

The unconscious is always at work – something which is continually shaped by our landscapes, histories, and experiences. Where words fall short, the artists recreate what cannot be fully explained by using symbolism, materiality, and representation. The work unfolds across various realms of experience, brushing against the real, the symbolic, and the imaginary.

 

The intangible nature of memory and feeling carries layers of resonance, shape shifting across time, cultures, and contexts. A motif, and image, or even a material can say one thing yet suggest another, opening up pathways to new readings. In Realms of the Imaginary, the artists create a space for open-ended engagement.

 

Across the exhibition, materials play a central role. Through resourceful and inventive processes, material constraints yield to artistry as matter is pushed beyond its bounds. Colours, gestures, and materials act as shared codes that shift in meaning, allowing abstraction and figuration to give form to dreams and desire.

 

Rooted in diverse geographies, each artist forges an imaginative migration, creating layered spaces of ambiguity, emotion, and transformation that address the inherent paradox of perception through the reality of the unconscious and the presence of the viewer.

 

In Nairobi, Agnes Waruguru’s practice spans painting, drawing, printmaking, needlework, and installation. Her work combines technical craft with visionary abstraction. Often referencing reproductive labour and personal identity politics, Waruguru treats painting as both site and process: a way of exploring materiality, memory, and the ways objects act as carriers of personal and collective histories.

 

In his process-based practice, Tunisian-French artist Béchir Boussandel allows climate, dust, and water to intervene directly on his canvases. Moving between control and chance, his abstractions evolve into bas-reliefs and figurative forms that anchor material transformation within lived experience.