• Monira Al Qadiri, Man of War, 2025, Blown glass, 22 x 25 x 21 cm, Unique (LBPM1.25), Courtesy of the Artist
  • Tamara Al Samerraei, Shore, 2022, Acrylic on canvas​, 172 x 133 cm​, Courtesy of the artist and Marfa Projects
  • Ali Banisadr, Sky Woman, 2025, Oil on linen, 43.2 x 35.6 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Olney Gleason
  • Chioma Ebinama, The tower, 2026, Watercolour, gouache, hair gel and coffee on khadi paper, 163.5 x 112 cm, © Chioma Ebinama. Courtesy Maureen Paley, London
  • Jessie French, Tidal Lullaby, Other Matter®, patented material developed by the artist, pigment, wax seal, aluminium frame, 70 x 80 x 6 cm (framed)​
  • Theo Triantafyllidis, Drift Lattice, 2025, Live Simulation, Music by Diego Navarro, Octopus Behaviour by Miles Peyton, Edition of 1 of 3 + 2 AP © The Artist. Courtesy The Breeder, Athens
  • Frank Walter, Untitled (Sailboat And Beach), n.d., Oil on pressed fiber with Masonite backing, 21.5 x 21.5 x 0.8 cm, (FWSP087), Courtesy the Walter Family
EXHIBITION

Monira Al Qadiri, Tamara Al-Samerraei, Ali Banisadr, Chioma Ebinama, Jessie French, Theo Triantafyllidis, Frank Walter

LEVIATHAN

Curated by Anaïs Lellouche

11 Apr — 16 May

Ames Yavuz is proud to present ‘LEVIATHAN’ curated by Anaïs Lellouche, featuring an intergenerational and international group of artists, many shown for the first time in Australia. Participating artists include Monira Al Qadiri (b. 1983, Senegal), Tamara Al-Samerraei (b. 1977, Kuwait), Ali Banisadr (b. 1976, Iran), Chioma Ebinama (b. 1988, United States), Jessie French (b. 1988, Australia), Theo Triantafyllidis (b. 1998, Greece), Frank Walter (b.1926 – d.2009, Antigua).

‘LEVIATHAN’, an unknown force that lies in the abyss. For artists, fearless by nature, it also symbolises the power of creation. Their visions conjure and respond to the forces that lie in the underbelly of the earth. Artists featured in the exhibition draw on the power of water as a transformative medium through three main thematic threads: the Leviathan as a mythical force and catalyst for artistic imagination; art’s agency in response to the climate crisis through change making media; and the experience of sea journeys, migration, water rights, and their psychological impact.

‘LEVIATHAN’ also opens a dialogue between art and the spoken word, rooted in key texts of by philosophers, political figures and poets: Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) best known for his 1651 book “Leviathan”; Victor Hugo (1802–1885), and Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891) whose passionate ideas about justice, the state and artistic power, resound in contemporary practice.

There are still places today where the water runs free. These offer spaces of hope, brimming with abundance, contrary to the other reality of scarcity and angst associated with our most precious resource. The artists in the show take on a similar agency when thinking about water as a material in which to create and have an impact in the world. Drawing from imagination and research, their work invites us to dive into a transformative experience. This is art, and this too is reality.