ST. GALLEN.- Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen will present the first solo exhibition in Switzerland by artist and author Cemile Sahin (*1990 in Wiesbaden/DE, lives in Berlin/DE). Cemile Sahin is an artistic storyteller who works across diverse media including film, photography, literature, and installation art. The critique of power structures is central to her work. She questions the instrumentalisation of images, media, and narratives, moving fluidly between mediums to present complex stories in fragmented narrative forms. Her work reveals how historiography is shaped by different perspectives, and how deeply these processes influence our perception and interpretation of reality.

An artist of Kurdish-Alevite origin, Sahin has achieved notable success as a literary author, underscoring her interest in fictional spaces. Her spectacular installations mix various media to create immersive environments where words and images converge in a powerful, layered, and dynamic interplay. For her first international exhibition in Switzerland, Sahin will develop a new film work and spatial installations that draw viewers into her narrations, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Her works will occupy the entire space of Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, quite literally immersing visitors in her questions and stories. Through her distinctive style, Sahin offers a critical perspective on today’s media landscape, where aesthetics and politics are increasingly intertwined. This makes her an important voice in our era of profound transformation.

Cemile Sahin (*1990, in Wiesbaden/DE) lives and works in Berlin/DE. Solo exhibitions (selection): «Gewehr im Schrank – Rifle in the closet», Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden/DE (2023); «Four Ballads for my Father – Spring», Videoraum, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin/DE (2023); «A Song of Tigris and Euphrates», Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Osnabrück/DE (2022); «It Would Have Taught Me Wisdom», Esther Schipper, Berlin/DE (2021). Group exhibitions and film festivals (selection): «Sieh Dir die Menschen an!», Kunstsammlung Chemnitz, Chemnitz/DE (2024); «white sea olive groves», Malta Art Biennale, Valletta/ES (2024); «The View», The Loft, Brüssel/BE (2024); «Sieh dir die Menschen an», Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Stuttgart/DE (2023); «Four Ballads for my Father – Spring screening», Fridericianum, Kassel/DE (2023); «Looking for Humanity», Kunstmuseum Magdeburg, Magdeburg/DE (2023); «Manifesto of Fragility: Biennale de Lyon 2022», Lyon Biennial, Lyon/FR (2022); «Identität nicht nachgewiesen», Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn/DE (2022); «Arbeit am Gedächtnis – Transforming Archives», Akademie der Künste, Berlin/DE (2021); «STUDIO BERLIN», Berghain, Berlin/DE (2020); «ars viva 2020», Kunstverein, Hamburg/DE (2020). Prizes: Nominierung «Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse», für den Roman Kommando Ajax (2025); «CIRCA Prize 2023», for the Movie Four Ballads for my Father – Spring (2023); «Alfred Döblin-Medaille 2020» for the novel TAXI (2020); «ars viva Prize 2020» (2019).