Igshaan Adams – Weerhoud

In January, ARoS proudly builds on our commitment to exhibiting new global voices with the first major exhibition in the Nordic region of the South African artist Igshaan Adams.

You can look forward to experiencing Adams’ meticulously crafted works including examples of his intricate tapestries, expansive floor and wall-based installation and suspended sculptural works adorned with beads, shells, ribbons, ropes, stones, silk, silver chains and more.

The exhibition will present works from 2014 to the present, including one of Adams’ largest dust cloud installations titled Weerhoud, an Afrikaans word translating to withheld.

Born in 1982 in the formerly segregated suburb of Bonteheuwel on the outskirts of Cape Town, Adams grew up in a complex identity context under apartheid’s racial classification system. Drawing on his own experiences, Adams explores the impact of trauma on the human psyche and the healing power of movement in his work.

Adams is particularly interested in how dance can help strengthen human resilience and agency. This is evident in his new work: a 6.5 metre long tapestry created in collaboration with the dynamic South African dance group Garage Dance Ensemble.

Igshaan Adams – Weerhoud is organised in collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield.

The exhibition at ARoS is curated by Maria Blegvad Kappel.

Front photo credit:

Igshaan Adams – Weerhoud , ARoS 2025. Installation views : Jens Henrik Daugaard © ARoS 2025

Stibo Fonden

Per og Lise Aarsleffs Fond

Knud Højgaards Fond