Having to perform normalcy everyday, in each encounter, or constantly being othered, or simply being lonely for a long-enough time can all be exhausting. One could also recognize the exhaustion originating from having embodied forms of oppression accumulating over several generations. Exhaustion is not only a consequence of ‘work’, but also of a variety of other forces, some of which we might have no control over.

On the other hand, ‘home’ is the space for resting, cooking and eating, care, kinship, and healing. In a time of social distancing and total isolation, home became everything, even more than before, the entirety of each person’s world. After months of staying home, home was not only the site of comfort and healing, but also of unbearable boredom, anxiety, strange and persistent shadows, restlessness, and ultimately exhaustion.

Sarmad has edited and produced a series of publications on the theme of home and exhaustion for the exhibition Fictioning Comfort.

Featuring works by

Arshia Eghbali, Tomi Hilsee, Ryan Lim Zi Yi, Eric Patel, Ying Liu, Masih Samimi, Hosein Danesh Pazhooh, Bo Stokkermans, Julia Gat, Johna Hansen, Valeria Moro, Pille-Riin Vihtre, Eszter Nagy, Soha Kabiri, Lenny Waasdorp, and Abbas Vahedi.