Deichtorhallen Hamburg –
Hall for Contemporary Art

Alliance, Infinity, Love – in the Face of the Other is conceived as a curatorial act of generosity that invites us to move beyond the parameters of our own conformity and into the realm of acceptance and tolerance of the unknown or undecipherable in life. The exhibition aims to be an invitation to reflect on the intimacy of photography’s “nature”, championing a time when we can consider the infinite possibilities of human kindness and harness love as a source of power, both politically, culturally, and familial.

Through the gathering of artists, scholars and activists such as Mónica de Miranda, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Sandra Brewster and Mao Ishikawa, we may enter into domains of representation, old and new, that provide reflective space in which to recognise different ways of being and to imagine new alliances, with hope as a critical friend, signposting personal and political destinations that assist us in breaking down the unconscious or inherited fears and taboos concerning difference. Ultimately, through this constellation of photographic voices, we aim to resist forms of observational hostility and work towards creating the conditions in which we may see beyond the stranger, beyond borders, and beyond hierarchies, embracing the inspirational and poetic thought that “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return” (Nature Boy, written by eden ahbez and recorded by Nat King Cole in 1948). 

This exhibition is curated by Mark Sealy.

With works by Laura Aguilar, Hélène Amouzou, Richard Avedon and James Baldwin, Didier Ben Loulou, Dawoud Bey, Sandra Brewster, Jasmina Cibic, Mário Cravo Neto, Brenda L. Croft, Mónica de Miranda, Omar Victor Diop and Lee Shulman, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Eikoh Hosoe, Mao Ishikawa, Lee Jaffe, Babak Kazemi, Sakir Khader, Derik Lynch and Matthew Thorne, Teresa Margolles, José Medeiros, Randa Mirza, Tyler Mitchell, Naeem Mohaiemen, Raphaela Rosella, Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Stephanie Syjuco, Chuck Stewart, Innuteq Storch and Nil Yater.