Bio

Rasha Kahil (born 1980) is an artist based in London, originally from Beirut, Lebanon. She completed an MA in Communication Art & Design at the Royal College of Art, London, in 2009.
Her projects take the form of photography, video and installation. She has exhibited internationally, most notably at the Royal Academy of Arts (GSK Contemporary), and at the BFI (British Film Institute).

Rasha is represented in the Middle East by The Running Horse Contemporary Art Space gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.

Artist Statement

Through my work, I explore the themes surrounding the gaze, and the dichotomy of the private and public through the recurrent use of the body as subject and object, to explore the Auto/Biographical. The body becomes a means for investigating displacement, social identity and its manifestation through everyday performance.

I am interested in the instances of tension that exist within ordinary moments. They are
‘the cusp’ of a narrative that cannot be read, but inferred; rarely understood, but felt.
Through the performative aspect of my work a shared universality transpires from the
awkwardness of the personal.

I work in different media (photography, video, installation) allowing the idea to dictate the form of the art project; to create a body of work that, although diverse in its visual outcomes, forms a coherent whole in its communicative aim.

Exhibitions / Publications

Upcoming, June 2011: Planned solo exhibition at The Running Horse art space, Beirut

July 2010: The Shameless, Solo exhibition, Zico House gallery, Beirut

April 2010: Counting Thoughts, The Running Horse art space, Beirut

April 2010: "Poses" published in Edwarda magazine, issue 2, France

March 2010: The Dig's Love Equinox, Passing Clouds, Dalston, London

March 2010: Bastakiya Art Fair, "The Eye" presented by The Running Horse contemporary art space, Dubai

Feb 2010: Soft Sculpture (or the Ordinary Reinterpreted), The Running Horse contemporary art space, Beirut

Jan 2010: "Letters between A & Z" published in Vague Paper, issue 7, London

Dec 2009: The Corridor: PixelPops09, BolteLang Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland

July 2009: Acoustic Images, British Film Institute (BFI), London

June 2009: RCA Graduate Show 2009, exhibiting "Poses" and launching the "XI and la Gueule du Monde" art publication. Poses was awarded the Carl Garnham Prize for Photographic Media.

March 2009:The Affluenza Exhibition, St. John's warehouse Clerkenwell, London, showing site-specific installation "M for Stalking"

February 2009: Performed Narratives, with filmmaker Sanna Kuittinen, Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London

January 2009: Quiet Please, GSK Contemporary at the Royal Academy of Arts, London

December 2008: RCA Interim Show, Gulbekian Gallery, Royal College of Art, London

October 2008: Spiritual Promises, curated by Cosmicmegabrain, Cordy House, London

April 2008: Oberon Book Illustration exhibition, Royal College of Art, London

February 2008: Beyond the Surface, Passion for Print exhibition, Hockney Gallery,
Royal College of Art, London

October 2006: Today is a Beautiful Day, illustration exhibition, Nog Gallery, London

2005: Winner of the Al Jourd photo competition, Lebanon

Press

Annahar newspaper: "Rasha Kahil and the Camera", 19/08/2010 (Arabic language)

Radio Zamaneh: Interview with Rasha Kahil, 2010 (Farsi language)

L'Orient le Jour newspaper: "Rasha Kahil's Domesticated Bodies", 31/07/2010, Lebanon

Al Akhbar newspaper: "Rasha Kahi: The Body Surrenders itself to the Camera", 31/07/2010 (Arabic language)

NOWLebanon.com: "Shameless: Rasha Kahil Lets It All Go", 04/08/2010, Lebanon

Blocnote: MTV Live interview about The Shameless exhibition, 31/07/2010, Middle-East

ART magazine: "Akt Now: Contemporary Photographer: Rasha Kahil", Germany

The Daily Star newspaper: Review of Counting Thoughts exhibition, 23/04/2010, Lebanon

Time Out Beirut: Review of the Soft Sculpture exhibition, March 2010, Lebanon

The Daily Star newspaper: Review of Soft Sculpture exhibition, 25/02/2010, Lebanon

L'Orient le Jour newspaper: Review of the Soft Sculpture exhibition, 23/02/10, Lebanon

Anothermag.com/Reader: Part of the Another fashion magazine digital blogroll, UK

180 magazine: Interview "Pictures Are the Emotions: Rasha Kahil", 2009, Canada

DazedDigital.com: Interview "XI ways to Talk about Sex", 2009, UK

Jezebel.com: "Artist Rasha Kahil makes Sex 'Everyday"', 2009, USA

nofound project: Online contemporary photography gallery, 2009, France

Dossier Journal: "Look: Rasha Kahil - Poses", 2009, UK/USA

Sang Bleu: Various features on the Sang Bleu blog, Switzerland