Becoming Through Pain brought together eight international women artists whose practices confront pain as a dynamic force rather than a static condition. Curated by Huma Kabakcı and presented at Somers Gallery in London from 26 March to 2 April 2026, the group exhibition examined women’s pain across medical, social, and political terrains, foregrounding repair as a creative and political act.
The exhibition was produced in collaboration with Sensity Studio, a London-based art management and production studio dedicated to supporting emerging women artists from developing countries in building sustainable careers in Europe and the UK.
Featuring works by Pauline Batista, Sena Başöz, Shannon Bono, Dyana Gravina, Jennifer Nieuwland, Lolita Pelegrime, Aziza Shaden, and Gülce Tulçalı, the show proposed that repair, whether physical, emotional, or political, is one of the most profound creative acts. Historically, women’s experiences of pain have been dismissed, pathologised, or rendered invisible within medical and social contexts. Becoming Through Pain challenged this narrative, insisting that the body is a site where harm is registered, resisted, and reimagined.
The artists explored repair not as a return to an unbroken past but as a transformative process. Sena Başöz (Turkey) explored healing and regeneration through installation and performance, focusing on embodied processes and movement to reactivate what feels lost or inert. Dyana Gravina (Southern Italy), an artist and activist, connected the politics of migration and intergenerational feminist organising to collective memory-making, including through her book Embodied Histories. Aziza Shaden (Uzbekistan/UK) used collage and visual absurdist poetry to navigate identity, memory, and the dislocation of immigration. Gülce Tulçalı (Turkey) employed fictional rituals within moving image and performance to examine women’s experiences within systems of power. Jennifer Nieuwland and Lolita Pelegrime explored solitude, connection, and vulnerability through painting, capturing the emotional resonance that surfaces through human gestures. Pauline Batista and Shannon Bono contributed multimedia and painting practices that expanded the exhibition’s focus on resilience and transformation.
The programme included a performance by Dyana Gravina marking the anniversary of her book release on opening night, followed by a curatorial tour and art brunch.
Produced in collaboration with Sensity Studio.