Stepping into Efie Gallery's new space in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue, you're immediately invited to pause and reflect. Their latest exhibition, 'time heals, just not quick enough...', opened on Sunday, June 1, 2025, offering an exploration of healing through the lens of time.
Curated by Ose Ekore, this group show brings together the works of acclaimed contemporary artists Samuel Fosso, Aïda Muluneh, Kelani Abass, Abeer Sultan, and Sumayah Fallatah.
Established in 2021, Efie gallery specialises in the representation of artists of African origin. In April 2025, the gallery moved permanently to Alserkal Avenue.
A journey through time and narrative
The ongoing exhibition is the second to be held in the gallery’s new Alserkal home.
It features a collection of film and photography. Each artist contributes a unique perspective, weaving together personal histories and broader societal themes.
Sumayah Fallatah, for instance, delves into family narratives and the African diaspora in the Arab world, with works like 'I became you, so I lost myself' exploring cultural assimilation and the grief of migration.
Her video, 'Fruits of Meditation', revisits a poignant childhood memory, inviting viewers into a deeply personal space.
Exploring identity and heritage
Abeer Sultan's 'Agua Viva' draws inspiration from her family’s migration from West Africa to Saudi Arabia, creating a new cosmography through self-portraiture and marine life imagery. Her use of collages and moving images of jellyfish and corals constructs fictional artefacts.
Meanwhile, Kelani Abass merges history, memory, and technology, influenced by his father’s letterpress printing company, creating mixed-media works that explore time's passage and identity's fluidity.
The exhibition also features works from the renowned Samuel Fosso's '70’s Lifestyle' series, showcasing his experimental self-portraits that challenge notions of identity and representation. His stylised images, influenced by African American fashion and West African music, offer a glimpse into his early artistic journey.
Aïda Muluneh's photographs, characterised by bold colours and surrealist elements, subvert conventional representations of African women, asserting photography as a powerful tool for reshaping Africa’s global image.
Location
Head to Warehouse 61 in Alserkal Avenue, in Al Quoz Industrial Area 1, to see this exhibition that runs until Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
Evangeline Elsa is a Dubai-based journalist with 15 years of experience. She enjoys telling success stories and writing on lifestyle, arts, interiors, F&B, and Korean culture. A homebody at heart, she paints, sings, reads Substacks, and dotes on her rescue dog, Pepper.
