Sarah Brahim's Debut Solo Show Explores Grief at Bally Foundation

Saudi-American artist Sarah Brahim's first solo exhibition, 'Sometimes we are eternal,' is on view at the Bally Foundation in Lugano, Switzerland, until 28 April 2024. The show, conceived a decade after the loss of her mother, uses photography, video, and performance to examine bereavement and its physical impact. Works include a split-screen video featuring the artist's father rubbing stones while Brahim beats her chest, and a clay sculpture with a projection of the artist shaping it. The exhibition shifts from monochrome to color, with later pieces losing momentum. Critics note debts to 1970s performance art, particularly Marina Abramović, and praise the raw emotional honesty.