SUMMER RESIDENCY
Eslam Abd El Salam is an Egyptian visual artist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His work focuses on walking as a pedagogical practice and is centered around the body: the body in motion, in contact with nature and in the presence of other bodies. Through the mediums of analogue photography, polaroids, text and mixed media, Eslam considers notions of synchronicity, specifically in relation to friendship and serendipitous encounters with others. Eslam's photography often takes place in domestic settings, spaces in which playfulness and vulnerability combine. Deeply embedded in spirituality, Eslam's work expands on what it means to surrender to the present moment, with others and in nature, and with intuition as a guiding principle. Embracing naivety in all its forms, Eslam's work views openness as a means of creating mutual recognition. Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, since 2022, Eslam’s journey to Ireland began in March 2019 as an artist-in-residence at The Curfew Tower in Cushendall. His work has been exhibited internationally in Finland, France, Latvia, Egypt, and the UK.
Kunstverein Aughrim’s pilot residency programme with Eslam Abd El Salam is a collaboration with Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, and is supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Wicklow County Council.