Collection: Universality of Endurance

FGM, early marriage, and teenage pregnancy are global social problems affecting the health and development of women and girls, often for their entire life.

Hailing from Ethiopia, Degaffe’s work reminds us of the persisting inequalities in the world, where the majority of people lack the fundamental opportunities to thrive and live a life in dignity. Degaffe also points out that many human rights violations such violence against women and genocide are universal.

The “universality of endurance” emphasizes that all human beings may face difficulties in their life, and that we all possess the intrinsic powers of endurance and resilience.

Often allegoric, Degaffe’s art includes the 'endurance art features' such as an elongated neck for the beauty and tenacity of women, faces without ears symbolizing not being heard, discs representing the Ethiopian bread “Injera” but also recurring thoughts in our head, protruding rib cages evocating hunger and other forms of deprivation, and a missing eye which is looking into the interior or symbolizes being watched. The background is often filled with moving bodies of water and mountains. Human portraits and landscapes are incorporated into each other.