You might have seen Adham Faramawy in Mount Kimbie’s 2017 film ‘Reach’, if you haven’t—it’s worth a watch. Spanning across mediums from sculpture and performance to print, the Dubai-born visual artist has made a resounding name for himself over the years.
When he’s not busy starring in films, he spends his time making them, and this month, his newest body of work Skin Flick is making its way to the Tate Britain for its premiere.
Now based in London, Faramawy is leaving his mark all over the UK, with a number of solo exhibitions. starting with There’s this thing, this feeling at the Naughton Gallery in Belfast, Janus Collapse at Liverpool’s the Blue coat, and Hydra at Cell Projects in London.
Last year, Faramawy made headlines for his piece, Makeup Tutorial, which Dazed dubbed “the weirdest makeup tutorial you will see all year”. In it, Faramawy dives deep into the world of YouTube beauty tutorials, with the video using the all-too-familiar format, except the products Faramawy uses vary from oil and onion milk and ‘scum’. As is the case for most of his work, advertising lies at the heart of Makeup Tutorial.
“I find advertising images so seductive. I’m a total mark for perfume ads and sometimes I find how naive I am about the ways I see and understand images kind of disturbing.” Faramawy explained.
As for Skin Flick, Faramawy continues to using the same format, using special effects drawn from advertising to explore issues of materiality, touch embodiment and identity construction for the film. Alongside the screening, the artist will also have some of his archival works on display.
Adam Faramawy: Skin Flick, September 12, The Tate Britain, London
