Tizita: Ethiopian Surrealism

Juxtaposing photos from the 1970’s Ethiopia with present day, this exhibition considers notions of safety, belonging, and diaspora. After the fall of the monarchy, the first wave of Ethiopian diaspora immigrated to the West and developed a unique sense of “tizita" (longing). Here, we blend these photos with images of return by Ethiopian-American contemporary artists. Here we are confronting the absence in between. To quote from the folksong and the exhibitions namesake, “Where has all the time gone? Did it melt in memory?”

Curated by Selam Bekele

Featuring works by the Bekele family archive, Tsige Tafesse and the Tafesse family archive, and a reading by Gabirel Tedros