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Elias Sime
Dichotomy ፊት አና ጀርባ, Spazio Tana, Castello, Venice (IT), April 17 - November 24, 2024

Elias Sime: Dichotomy ፊት አና ጀርባ

Past exhibition
  • Works
  • Installation Views
  • Press release
  • Press
  • Related content
Works
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 1, 2023-2024 Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel 231.1 x 203.2 x 20.3 cm | 91 x 80 x 8 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 1, 2023-2024
    Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel
    231.1 x 203.2 x 20.3 cm | 91 x 80 x 8 in
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 2, 2023-2024 Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel 138 x 520 cm | 54 3/8 x 204 3/4 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 2, 2023-2024
    Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel
    138 x 520 cm | 54 3/8 x 204 3/4 in
    Sold
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 3, 2023-2024 Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel 204 x 450 cm | 80 1/4 x 177 1/8 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 3, 2023-2024
    Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel
    204 x 450 cm | 80 1/4 x 177 1/8 in
    Sold
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 4, 2023-2024 Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel 120 x 240 cm | 47 1/4 x 94 1/2 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 4, 2023-2024
    Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel
    120 x 240 cm | 47 1/4 x 94 1/2 in
    Sold
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 5, 2023-2024 Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel 182.9 x 358.1 cm | 72 x 141 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 5, 2023-2024
    Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel
    182.9 x 358.1 cm | 72 x 141 in
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 6, 2023-2024 Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel 230 x 160 cm | 90 1/2 x 63 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 6, 2023-2024
    Electrical components and electrical wires on wooden panel
    230 x 160 cm | 90 1/2 x 63 in
    Sold
  • Elias Sime Tightrope: Dichotomy 7, 2023-2024 Electrical components on panel 198.1 x 78.7 x 63.5 cm | 78 x 31 x 25 in
    Elias Sime
    Tightrope: Dichotomy 7, 2023-2024
    Electrical components on panel
    198.1 x 78.7 x 63.5 cm | 78 x 31 x 25 in
Installation Views
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 3
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 2
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 7
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 4
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 10
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 9
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 1
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 6
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 12
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 11
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 8
  • Installation View Dichotomy 2024 Venice It 5
Press release
Elias Sime | Tightrope: Dichotomy 6, 2023-2024
Elias Sime | Tightrope: Dichotomy 6, 2023-2024
View works

GRIMM, in collaboration with James Cohan Gallery, is delighted to present Elias Sime: Dichotomy ፊት አና ጀርባ, a solo exhibition dedicated to the Addis Ababa-based artist, on view from 17 April through 24 November 2024, at Tanarte in Castello. This exhibition is organised by the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf and is an official Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

Co-curated by the artist’s longtime collaborator Meskerem Assegued and Felicity Korn, curator at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Dichotomy ፊት አና ጀርባ illuminates the tenuousness of humanity’s private and public dualities. Selected works will later be included in a comprehensive retrospective of Elias Sime at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf from March to June 2025. 

Addressing the impact of globalization and technology on the human psyche, Elias Sime: Dichotomy ፊት አና ጀርባ features seven new artworks, including six new wall works and a large-scale braided wire sculpture. Using materials that form the backbone of all digital communication, Sime crafts dimensional meditations that encourage sustained contemplation.

In his material-driven and multidisciplinary practice, Sime weaves, layers, and braids repurposed technological equipment into lyrical and intricate sculptural assemblages. Sime’s use of color, pattern, and grids often reference natural landscapes, evoking both the environment and humankind’s imprint on the earth. This presentation elaborates on Sime’s Tightrope series, which the artist first began developing in 2009. In particular, the new Tightrope works meditate on the centrality of the smartphone in everyday life. 

Sime looks at this device as a status symbol, as well as a metaphor for the fraught systems powering global communication today; the ubiquitous devices are powered by precious metals which are mined under punishing conditions, raising serious ethical and ecological concerns due to their geological scarcity and associated geopolitics. In the entryway from the canal to the interior exhibition space in Venice, a site-specific installation places panels of electronic components and electrical wires in direct dialogue with the ancient infrastructure of the city.

Working with Assegued, Sime co-founded, designed, and built the award-winning Zoma Museum in Addis Ababa, an environmentally conscious international art center. Zoma Museum includes a gallery space, library, children’s center, edible garden, elementary school, art and vernacular school, amphitheater, cafe, and museum shop. As an extension of this architectural practice, Sime has recently begun to develop a series of freestanding carved stone sculptures whose sinuous forms echo the vernacular architecture of the museum. Dichotomy ፊት አና ጀርባ features the latest work from this ongoing series.

Click here for more information

Download Press Release
Press
  • Elias Sime’s E-Waste Abstractions for Venice Are Tightly Linked With His Community Projects in Ethiopia

    Emily Watlington, Art in America, April 17, 2024
  • Elias Sime reflects on the destructive nature of technology in Venice

    Gameli Hamelo, Wallpaper*, April 16, 2024
  • 10 Shows to See in Venice During the Biennale, From a Pierre Huyghe Blockbuster to Art About Palestine

    Alex Greenberger, ARTnews, April 11, 2024
  • Elias Sime mines the Chinafrica connection with his motherboard murals

    Brian Droitcour, Art Basel, April 9, 2024
  • 11 Must-See Venice Shows to Visit during the Biennale in 2024

    Josie Thaddeus-Johns and Casey Lesser, Artsy, April 9, 2024
  • Circuit Bending: Ethiopian Art at a Crossroads

    Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, March 28, 2024
Related content
  • Elias Sime’s E-Waste Abstractions for Venice Are Tightly Linked With His Community Projects in Ethiopia Press

    Elias Sime’s E-Waste Abstractions for Venice Are Tightly Linked With His Community Projects in Ethiopia

    Art in America April 17, 2024
    Read more
  • Elias Sime reflects on the destructive nature of technology in Venice Press

    Elias Sime reflects on the destructive nature of technology in Venice

    Wallpaper* April 16, 2024
    Read more
  • 10 Shows to See in Venice During the Biennale, From a Pierre Huyghe Blockbuster to Art About Palestine Press

    10 Shows to See in Venice During the Biennale, From a Pierre Huyghe Blockbuster to Art About Palestine

    ARTnews April 11, 2024
    Read more
  • 11 Must-See Venice Shows to Visit during the Biennale in 2024 Press

    11 Must-See Venice Shows to Visit during the Biennale in 2024

    Artsy April 9, 2024
    Read more
  • Elias Sime mines the Chinafrica connection with his motherboard murals Press

    Elias Sime mines the Chinafrica connection with his motherboard murals

    Art Basel April 9, 2024
    Read more
  • Circuit Bending: Ethiopian Art at a Crossroads Press

    Circuit Bending: Ethiopian Art at a Crossroads

    Artforum March 28, 2024
    Read more

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    Elias Sime

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