DIRECTORY 2024
Gøneja ✷ | Photography & Sculpture
Gøneja ✷ (1987, Milan) [he/they] is an artist living and working in Berlin whose practice explores the language of symbol, ritual, and magic through a combination of classical photography of unorthodox subjects and hieroglyphic sculpture made of industrial materials. He reimagines ancient spiritual systems in contemporary bodies of works that combine a minimalist, queer standpoint alongside an informed artistic understanding. Symbolic motifs from sources as diverse as Egyptian mythology, Medieval cosmology, and Christian iconography find their way into their exhibitions as vivid portraits, totemic objects, and mysterious landscapes. In exploring magic, the artist ultimately aims to uncover new mythological possibilities and to live them out in their work as active magical forces. Gøneja ✷ has published internationally and has released two books. Their work has been exhibited across Europe, including group shows at The Holy Art Gallery (London), Palazzo Bembo (Venice), and Rossocinabro Gallery (Rome), as well as three solo exhibitions in Berlin at tête (2020) and Organ Kritischer Kunst (2022 & 2023).
Marat + Ester Pietà, Inkjet print, 61 x 75 cm, 2020 - Gøneja ✷.
Leonard Vanitas, Inkjet print, 58 x 67 cm, 2023 - Gøneja ✷.
Lifteth The Needy Out Of The Dunghill, Steel, 57 x 54 x 3 cm, 2023 - Gøneja ✷.
Tsuki, Inkjet print, 53 x 72 cm, 2021 - Gøneja ✷.
Spomenik, Inkjet print, 80 x 120 cm, 2021 - Gøneja ✷.
Gøneja ✷ is a photographer and totemic sculptor based in Berlin. His practice represents an artistic quest to establish a connection with the spiritual world and explore it within the boundaries of the contemporary urban context. He combines classical photography and totemic sculpture to unfold a new mythological narrative. Spirituality is a means to discern contemporary mythological possibilities and unravel them in his work as active magical forces.