Monira Al Qadiri: Hero

Monira Al Qadiri intensively examines the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of the oil industry. Her works shed light on the connections between crude oil as the leading fossil fuel of the twentieth century and the rise of consumer capitalism. Al Qadiri has developed several new groups of works for the Berlinische Galerie. The central motif of the exhibition is the oil tanker: Not only a gigantic means of transportation on the world's oceans, but also a symbol of power-political interests, global inequality, and ecological crises. Its monumental presence tells of an industry that enables a comfortable lifestyle while simultaneously destroying the planet. Despite the emerging shift towards renewable energies, the toxic legacy of oil continues to be felt: in the sea and in the air, in cities, infrastructures, and even in our bodies.