Salad Hilowle – Somalitown

Cecilia Hillström Gallery is pleased to present artist, filmmaker and writer Salad Hilowle’s first exhibition at the gallery, Somalitown.

Salad Hilowle works in a variety of media. Primarily known for his celebrated video works, presented in film and art contexts, he also works with photography, sculpture, performance and installation. With rare sensitivity and precision, he uses a research-based approach that highlights forgotten or hidden stories throughout art history and popular culture. In his art, Hilowle has often explored the representation of Afro-Swedes in cultural history. By researching archival records, Hilowle traces overlooked subjects and tells their stories.

The exhibition Somalitown features sculpture, photography and screen-print on textiles, centring around objects such as traditional Somali headrests and sarong fabrics. The exhibition title derives from the infamous quote by Magdalena Andersson, Prime Minister of Sweden at the time, one month before the upcoming election in 2022 - “We don’t want Chinatown, Somalitown or Little Italy. We should be able to live mixed with the different experiences we have.” Born in Mogadishu and raised in a Somali-Swedish family in Gävle, Hilowle often uses his biography as a starting point in his art. Andersson’s expression about not wanting "Somalitowns" initiated the new project, resulting in a presentation that goes beyond the stereotype. As an image-driven storyteller, Hilowle carefully navigates historical narratives that linger in our collective consciousness and brings forth new perspectives without losing the complexities and nuances that permeate the subjects.

Salad Hilowle (born 1986 in Mogadishu, Somalia) holds an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art (2020) and a BFA from Konstfack (2018) in Stockholm. During spring 2023 Hilowle had a solo exhibition at Eskilstuna Art Museum featuring his acclaimed video work Vanus Labor including sculpture and photography, as well as the new performance work Journey of Unity. Solo exhibitions include Kulturhuset Stockholm, Gävle Konstcentrum in collaboration with the County Museum of Gävleborg and the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in connection with the Bernadotte Scholarship Hilowle received in 2020. He has also exhibited at Bildmuseet, Umeå, Kalmar Art Museum, CCI Fabrika, Moscow, GIBCA (Gothenburg International Biennial of Contemporary Art), Borås Art Biennal, and Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm, to name a few. His praised novel Halima om de sina (2022) was nominated for the Swedish Photo Book Award in 2023. In addition, recent awards include the Swedish Arts Grants Committee's working grant, the Stockholm City cultural grant and Rettig's Artist Scholarship in 2021. He was also the art candidate for the DN Culture Award the same year. Hilowle is represented in the collections of Moderna Museet, Uppsala Art Museum, Borås Art Museum, Kalmar Art Museum, Västerås Art Museum, Konstmuseet i Norr, Public Art Agency Sweden and the County Museum of Gävleborg