Starting 13 September, Brutus Space presents No one bats an eye, a solo exhibition by visual artist Narges Mohammadi (1993, Afghanistan). Through a monumental, site-specific installation, Mohammadi unveils her most personal work to date: a poetic yet confronting reflection on poverty, resilience, and the universal need for existential security.

A house full of memories

A house is never just a house. It bears the weight of time, the warmth of twilight through a window, the silent arrangement of objects, the familiar creases in fabric, and the traces of touch left behind. It is not fixed but fluid, shaped by those who pass through it. This sense of familiarity, of belonging, lies at the heart of Mohammadi's latest and most intimate exhibition. In this large-scale, site-specific installation, she revisits the spaces of her early childhood. Raised in Kabul, Mohammadi understands how hospitality can flourish amid scarcity — how resilience can coexist with insecurity and precarity.

The exhibition

In No one bats an eye, Mohammadi brings childhood memories to life through a monumental installation created especially for the Barbarella — Brutus' raw, underground exhibition space. Sculptures made of sand and alabaster and enlarged family photographs rendered in clay fill the rooms, accompanied by the haunting yet comforting sound of a ticking sewing machine.

For this project, Mohammadi explores the craft of stone carving. She works with alabaster, hollowing it from within until only a thin, almost translucent skin remains. The result is a series of visually fragile objects that double as a powerful metaphor: poverty slowly hollows people out — often without visible signs on the surface.