Sherin Guirguis’s work investigates narratives and histories that have often been forgotten, marginalized, and/or erased. Using a specific site, a related text (poem, biography, song, etc.), and a recovered history as the core of each series, she develops projects that engage audiences in a dialogue about power, agency, and social transformation through art. Her research involves studying available archives, as well as interviewing community members and leaders. This research leads to explorations of architecture, text, and narratives that translate into artworks that reactivate these lost narratives. The connection between the materials, the formal aspects of the work, and the content is crucial to the stories’ retelling: materials, colors, and patterns are the visual language through which viewers can access these lost histories.

Guirguis was born in Luxor, Egypt, in 1974. Raised in Cairo, she lives and works in Los Angeles, where she is associate professor of the practice of fine art at the University of Southern California. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Orange County Museum of Art, the Houston Museum of Fine Art, and the Las Vegas Museum of Contemporary Art. 

This event is presented by UC Berkeley’s Department of Art Practice and the Wiesenfeld Visiting Artist Series.

Participants and topics are subject to change; visit Berkeley Arts + Design (artsdesign.berkeley.edu) for the most up-to-date series information.