Together with ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen - the Goethe-Institut Äthiopien warmly invites you to visit the new exhibition Beyond Body and Space. From 13. December, 2024 to 31. January, 2025.
Beyond Body and Space is an immersive soft sculpture installation that repurposes discarded textiles into large-scale, organic forms resembling otherworldly blossoms. These suspended fabric pieces, alongside floral-inspired benches, create an interactive environment where visitors are invited to engage with the artwork and reflect on memory, identity, and environmental change.
The installation blends nostalgia with futurism, using familiar materials to explore the intersection of personal memory, place, and the tension between development and preservation. The interplay of light and shadow casts intricate patterns across the space, giving the installation a dynamic, fluid identity that evolves with the viewer's presence.
Beyond Body and Space offers a sensory experience that invites contemplation on the materiality of everyday objects and the cultural significance of textiles.
Artist Bio: Alebel Desta
Architect / Installation Artist
Alebel Desta is an Ethiopian multidisciplinary architect and installation artist based in Addis Ababa. A graduate of Addis Ababa University, his work merges contemporary architecture with large-scale, immersive art installations. Known for his innovative approach, Alebel has received international recognition through design competitions for blending art and functionality in unique ways.
In 2022, he founded ZIGZAG Space, a dynamic gallery and creative hub that fosters artistic experimentation and community engagement. The space showcases handcrafted works inspired by Ethiopian and African traditions, including vibrant geometric paintings influenced by tilet, sifet, tattoos, and crosses.
Alebel’s practice is driven by a commitment to pushing boundaries, merging cultural heritage with contemporary design, and creating immersive environments that invite new forms of interaction.
Artist Bio: Isabel Tesfazghi
Visual Artist
Isabel Tesfazghi is an Eritrean-German contemporary visual artist, best known for her large-scale soft sculptures and immersive installations. She studied textile design at the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design (Netherlands) and earned a Master’s in Sculpture from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp (Belgium), where she developed her signature approach to sculptural textile works.
Her practice integrates video, sound, light, performance, and sculpture, creating multi-sensory environments that invite reflection on technological evolution and its impact on society. With her installations, Isabel offers her audience a moment of respite from the frenetic pace of modern life. Her work has been exhibited in renowned art centers and museums across Europe, establishing her as an interesting voice in contemporary art.
Tinsae Tsegahun Mengistu
Architect / Curator
Tinsae Tsegahun Mengistu is an architect born and raised in Addis Ababa. She blends her passion for sustainable design, architecture, and a vibrant engagement with the arts. A graduate of Addis Ababa University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, she continued her academic journey with a postgraduate focus on 3D printing architecture at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, emphasizing the use of Earth as a sustainable building material.
