FROM 1 NOV 2025 | An immersive installation by artist Mandy El-Sayegh will open this November in the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. The presentation marks the start of a new multi-year exhibition series showcasing experimental contemporary art.
Mandy El-Sayegh brings layered installation to Depot
From Saturday 1 November 2025, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam will host a large-scale installation by the London-based artist Mandy El-Sayegh. The exhibition marks the artist’s first solo project in the Netherlands and inaugurates the institution’s new Depot Solo series.
El-Sayegh, born in Malaysia in 1985, is known for a multidisciplinary approach that spans painting, collage, installation, video and performance. Her work is often structured around the deconstruction and reconstruction of language, material and meaning. For this commission, El-Sayegh has transformed one of the Depot’s halls into a fragmented and immersive installation that exposes her creative process.
Deconstructing meaning through material
The installation includes newly created work in which El-Sayegh dissects the anatomy of her paintings. Visitors can expect collages composed of silkscreens and hand-painted elements that reference both art history and contemporary culture. Notably, the exhibition incorporates reproductions of old master drawings from the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
The space functions simultaneously as a laboratory and exhibition: an environment where the development of the work remains visible and active. Layers of newspaper clippings, scientific diagrams, anatomy books, grids, latex sheets and Arabic calligraphy—drawn from her father’s handwriting—are fused into intricate compositions. Through this layered process, the artist examines how information is structured and how meaning can shift depending on context.
Performance during Museumnacht 2026
As part of Rotterdam’s Museumnacht on 7 March 2026, a performance will take place within the installation. This live event will reinterpret the exhibition in a new format, emphasising the fluid relationship between body, text and space in El-Sayegh’s practice.
A platform for contemporary experimentation
The Depot Solo initiative aims to offer contemporary artists, who have not yet held a solo show in the Netherlands, the opportunity to develop site-specific immersive installations. The series, made possible in part by Ammodo Art, positions itself as an analogue alternative to the trend of digital immersive experiences, providing space for physical and material experimentation.
Directions to the Depot
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is located in the Museumpark, a central cultural hub in Rotterdam near the Kunsthal and Het Nieuwe Instituut. The area is accessible by public transport and offers nearby parking for bicycles and cars. The building’s iconic mirrored facade is within walking distance from Rotterdam Central Station.
