ISSUES

ISSUES is pleased to present artist Salad Hilowle’s first published book. Halima om de sina is published by Volante and released at ISSUES on 10th November 2022 alongside seven new photographic works.

The book poetically and visually tells the story of a Somalian grandmother living in Umeå. Today, it can be perceived that the elder perspective is rarely considered. Halima om de sina gives us the chance to see life through an elder’s eyes, we meet her friends and family and learn her secrets and reflections on our existence. Her story helps us understand that no matter who we are or where we come from we can all find similarities. Several of the exhibited photographs are featured in the book and capture intimate yet mundane scenes in Somalia and Sweden. Others are staged and part of Salad’s wider work on the Somali diaspora in Sweden and blacks’ portrayal throughout Swedish art history

SALAD HILOWLE

b. 1986 Mogadishu, Somalia and raised in Gävle, Sweden, lives and works in Stockholm.

Salad is an artist and filmmaker focused on home, identity, and belonging. Through his artwork, Salad elevates the everyday, something that is often perceived as mundane, by inviting us to take a closer look at the familiar such as an afternoon swim, a balcony or a shared meal. These scenes are relatable universally yet unfold in specific places across Sweden and Somalia reminding us that despite where we find ourselves located, we belong to the human race. In a time when cultural differences seem to be privileged over similarities, causing a sense of alienation and exclusion, Salad’s work is a powerful call to recognize our humanity.

Salad holds an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm and a BFA from Konstfack. He was a Bernadotte Fellow for 2020 and his first feature film Tungomål is in development. Salad’s recent solo exhibitions include Homecoming at Gävle Konstcentrum and Länsmuseet Gävleborg, Gävle, Sweden (2022) ; PUBLIKT at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Stockholm (2021); Vanus Labor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm (2021); The Ghost ship and the Sea of Change at GIBCA, Gothenburg (2021); Home Is Where the Heart Is: Part II at Österängens Konsthall, Jönköping, Sweden (2020); Buuraha u Dheer (Passion of Remembrance) at the Royal Academy of Arts, Stockholm (2019); Home Is Where the Heart Is at Konstfack Gallery, Stockholm (2018) and Brev till Sverige at Tierp Konsthall, Tierp, Sweden (2017). His short film Letter to Sweden was shortlisted for a Guldbagge award nomination and received an honorary mention at Tempo Documentary Festival for best short film in 2017. In 2015, he received one of Sweden’s largest scholarships, The Karin and Erik Engmans scholarship.