Hélène Mutter

Archives of Trauma” group show in Athens // A piece of my project "Here, There – Chapter 2: At the Dawn of Darkness” (2024 – 2025) is traveling in Europe. At the Dawn of Darkness forms the second chapter of a long-term project started in 2009 examining the representational dimensions of the 1990–1991 Gulf War across France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. The selected section of the project assembles a range of visual materials: photographs from military and family archives documenting the 1991 bombings in Kuwait, alongside analog images captured by the author in 2025 on Failaka Island, depicting houses left behind by residents who were forced to flee following the Iraqi invasion. Rather than a unified narrative, these perspectives reflect the fragmented nature of collective memory. Participating artists: Rosie Barnes, @rosiebarnesphoto Katerina Angelopoulou @angelo_katerina Karoline Schneider @karoline.schneider.berlin Helene Mutter @helenemutter Maro Ellinitaki @maroellini Abbey Hepner @abbeyhepner DoraLionstone @doralionstoned Kate Schulze @_katesch Tutu Guo @tutuguo Blagovesta Semkova @blaga_with_camera Hannah Grendel @blooonndy Nastassja Nefjodov @nnefjodov Veronica Borsani @veroborsani Thanks to the curators of the @womensphotofestival Penelope Petsini and @mouzakiti_eleni @houseoflucieathens A part of this project was developed during my residency @fikar.failaka 📸 By @irene_tsor

“Archives of Trauma” group show is on view until this Saturday May 2nd. In this post works by Hélène Mutter (@helenemutter ) from the project: Here, There – Chapter 2: At the Dawn of Darkness” (2024 – 2025) At the Dawn of Darkness forms the second chapter of a long-term project started in 2009 examining the representational dimensions of the 1990–1991 Gulf War across France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. The selected section of the project assembles a range of visual materials: photographs from military and family archives documenting the 1991 bombings in Kuwait, alongside analog images captured by the author in 2025 on Failaka Island, depicting houses left behind by residents who were forced to flee following the Iraqi invasion. Rather than a unified narrative, these perspectives reflect the fragmented nature of collective memory. The exhibition “Archives of Trauma” is on view at House of Lucie Athens @houseoflucieathens until Saturday, 2 May. From a total of 429 submitted projects the curators of the @womensphotofestival (Penelope Petsini and Eleni Mouzakiti @mouzakiti_eleni ) selected 13 to present. The quality and depth of the submissions were truly remarkable — with more than 100 particularly compelling projects, we sincerely wish we could have included even more. Participating artists: Rosie Barnes, @rosiebarnesphoto Katerina Angelopoulou @angelo_katerina Karoline Schneider @karoline.schneider.berlin Helene Mutter @helenemutter Maro Ellinitaki @maroellini Abbey Hepner @abbeyhepner DoraLionstone @doralionstoned Kate Schulze @_katesch Tutu Guo @tutuguo Blagovesta Semkova @blaga_with_camera Hannah Grendel @blooonndy Nastassja Nefjodov @nnefjodov Veronica Borsani @veroborsani

The exhibition “Archives of Trauma” is on view at House of Lucie Athens until Saturday, 2 May. From a total of 429 submitted projects the curators of the @womensphotofestival (Penelope Petsini and Eleni Mouzakiti @mouzakiti_eleni ) selected 13 to present. The quality and depth of the submissions were truly remarkable — with more than 100 particularly compelling projects, we sincerely wish we could have included even more. Participating artists: Rosie Barnes, @rosiebarnesphoto Katerina Angelopoulou @angelo_katerina Karoline Schneider @karoline.schneider.berlin Helene Mutter @helenemutter Maro Ellinitaki @maroellini Abbey Hepner @abbeyhepner DoraLionstone @doralionstoned Kate Schulze @_katesch Tutu Guo @tutuguo Blagovesta Semkova @blaga_with_camera Hannah Grendel @blooonndy Nastassja Nefjodov @nnefjodov Veronica Borsani @veroborsani A special thank you to our wine sponsor, Ktima Tselepos, for the Mantineia white wine!! In the coming days, we will share and highlight more of the exhibited projects. Thank you all for your presence at the opening night!! Opening hours: Wed.-Fri.: 16:00-20:00, Sat.: 12:00-16:00

>> Next week @houseoflucieathens opening of the @womensphotofestival exploring the theme of "Archives of Trauma". // "Thirteen artistic practices, thirteen different narratives, one shared question: how can the image function as a carrier of memory, testimony, and the processing of trauma? The exhibition is presented within the framework of the Women’s Photo Festival and brings together works by women photographers from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds, who explore trauma both as a personal experience and as a collective historical imprint. Through photographic archives, family images, hybrid narratives, and artistic interventions, the artists approach photography as a field in which memory is reactivated and transformed. Traumatic experience thus appears as a process that continues to shape the present, influencing both personal histories and collective narratives. From the intergenerational memory of war and the traces of political conflicts to the quieter experiences of loss, illness, neurodivergence, and domestic violence, the works in the exhibition form a polyphonic field of personal and collective experiences. Through different methodologies and aesthetic strategies, the artists transform photography into a tool of memory, visibility, and care, creating a space for collective reflection around what often remains unspoken or difficult to articulate. Their practices illuminate how trauma is inscribed in the body, in family history, and in collective memory, while also revealing the gendered dimensions of experience, care, and storytelling. Through personal archives, testimonies, and visual reconstructions, memory is mapped in a space where the intimacy of personal experience meets broader historical and social conditions." Selected Artists: Katerina Angelopoulou (GR), Rosie Barnes (UK), Verónica Borsani (AR), Maro Ellinitaki (GR), Tutu Guo (CN), Abbey Hepner (US), Dora Lionstone (DE), Hannah Grendel (DE), Hélène Mutter (FR), Nastassja Nefjodov (DE/RU), Kate Schultze (DE), Karoline Schneider (DE), Blagovesta Semkova (BG) Curation #Penelopepetsini @mouzakiti_eleni

Les tirages de L’atelier en exposition au Koweït pour @helenemutter

A part of my project "Here, There - Chapter 2: At the Dawn of Darkness" (2024- 2025) developed during @fikar.failaka residency exhibited @capkuwait // "'At the Dawn of Darkness' forms the second chapter of Here, There, a long-term research and artistic project started in 2009 examining the representational dimensions of the 1990–1991 Gulf War. Developed since 2022 across France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, the fieldwork phase of the project combines photographic series and a creative video documentary to construct a multi-perspectival chronicle of the conflict more than three decades after its occurrence. Drawing on a wide range of visual and archival sources—including family photographs, military records, satellite imagery, and personal testimonies—the work investigates how images not only document war but actively participate in shaping its narratives. Mutter’s methodology foregrounds the conditions under which images are produced and circulated, revealing the interdependence between representation, power, and historical memory. Rather than offering a unified account, the project assembles disparate viewpoints drawn from civilians, military actors, and transnational observers. This multiplicity resists singular interpretation and reflects the fragmented nature of collective remembrance. The work emphasises how traces of war continue to surface within both public discourse and intimate landscapes, long after formal hostilities have ended. Supported by DRAC Occitanie, CEFREPA, and FIKAR, the project situates Failaka Island as a critical site within the broader geography of the Gulf War’s visual afterlives, where personal histories intersect with geopolitical imaginaries." // Group show "IN SITU: Art, Research, and Practice on Failaka Island - FIKAR Seasons I-II" >> On view until February 11, 2026 // Many thanks to @oceane.sailly @sulaymanalbassam and @arwaalfailchawi ✨ Prints @atelier_lepictorium

On January 28th, 2026 at CAP Gallery in Kuwait City, opening of the first exhibition of FIKAR: "IN SITU: Art, Research, and Practice on Failaka Island - FIKAR Seasons l-ll" "Bringing together project developed during FIKAR's first two seasons, IN SITU unfolds as a multidisciplinary constellation of works in progress and completed projects. The exhibition reflects sustained artistic and research-based engagements with Failaka Island - its civilisational histories and landscapes, its biosphere, as well as its mythical pasts and imagined futures." --> exhibition on view until February 11th, 2026!

After 2 years of intensive work, the "BEDAYAT - Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement" exhibition has officially opened at the National Museum of Riyadh. Bringing together around 300 artworks and hundreds of archival materials, it highlights Saudi modern art from the 1960s to the 1980s, with works by 73 artists. >> On view until April, 11 2026. @hafezgallery @mocsaudi @visualarts_moc @aimes.art @canvasmag

Publication of my project "Here, There - Chapter 2: at the Dawn of Darkness" in @photoedmagazine "Memory" issue digital extra edition - October 2025 // @fikar.failaka

>> Exposition collective "Motif Guerre" à voir jusqu'au 04 octobre @galerie_ideale à Paris // Archives et objets de Failaka Island, Koweït, 2024-2025 @fikar.failaka 📸@adrienthibault

>> Exposition "Motif Guerre" à découvrir @galerie_ideale jusqu'au 04 octobre 2025 à Paris // Plaisir d'y présenter 2 projets qui se rencontrent entre la France et le Koweït après tant d'années de recherches. @fikar.failaka >> Exposition collective avec les œuvres de @marcmingchan.art @alexandredhuy @stephanepencreach @raffinidavid #ceijastojka Merci @damienlevyperso 📸@adrienthibault

Next show: « Motif Guerre » 06/09/2025 -> 04/10/2025 With : @marcmingchan.art , @helenemutter , @alexandredhuy , @stephanepencreach , @raffinidavid ,#ceijastojka Depuis plusieurs années, les guerres sont revenues sur le devant de la scène médiatique et politique. La guerre en Ukraine, mais aussi le conflit Israël/Palestine, la guerre en Syrie, celle au Yémen, les affrontements au Pakistan ou encore les tensions entre l’Arménie et l’Azerbaïdjan sont autant de signaux alarmants. La caisse de résonance que constituent les médias et les réseaux sociaux, ainsi qu’une propagande de guerre menée par chacun des camps impliqués donnent l’impression d’un monde au bord du gouffre. Chaque jour, nous sommes abreuvés de témoignages, de reportages, de faits plus ou moins vérifiés ; on dénombre les morts, on appelle à l’indignation, on nous demande d’agir, de prendre position. Guy Debord analysait déjà dans « La Société du spectacle » (1967) ces phénomènes de mise en scène par les médias, transformant la guerre en un objet de consommation visuelle et idéologique, où l’image prime sur la réalité. C’est dans ce contexte inquiétant, que j’ai choisi d’inviter plusieurs artistes dont le travail a pour sources cette actualité guerrière. Ils se saisissent courageusement de ce sujet historique que sont les guerres et conflits, non pas pour délivrer un message, mais pour nous alerter sur le brouillard qu’elles créent dans nos esprits, sur la confusion entretenue par la surabondance d’informations, et sur la difficulté de discerner, au milieu du vacarme, ce qui relève du réel et ce qui est produit pour influencer nos perceptions. @damienlevyperso