Published 30 May 2022 in Press
ESCAP3 Gallery
Madiha Sebbani Receives Letter of Recognition from the Arab World Institute
Arab World Institute
1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
Congratulations to Madiha Sebbani for receiving an official Letter of Recognition from the President of the Arab World Institute, Jack Laing, for her curation of the Group Exhibition 'SACRED' as well as her Solo Exhibition 'Until Further Notice' Curated By Andrew Lamprecht, both hosted by ESCAP3 Gallery during 2021.
The Institut du Monde Arabe, French for Arab World Institute, abbreviated IMA, is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values.
"Dear Mrs Madiha Sebbani,
I wanted to congratulate you warmly on your virtual exhibition entitled 'Until Further Notice' at ESCAP3 Gallery.
The accuracy of this title reminds us of the infinite and almost universal wait which we are facing nowadays as a sequel of the pandemic Covid-19.
The bubble which you carry at Fèz, in the abnormally deserted streets of Bab Al Ouard, or even the meditation that you undertake in the Casablancan turmoil of Derbmoulaycherif, …
These different works and performances describe the in-between in which we are immersed, frozen in a halted temporality where movement gave way to stillness, where uncertainty has taken over scientific hypotheses which used to guide us until now.
A colourful artist, I am an admirer of your enthusiasm and of your pledge for art and culture. Programmer of festivals for the collective 'Jeunes artistes marocains (Young Moroccan Artists)', you multiply exhibitions in iconic artistic places: London, Cologne, New York,… I learned that you will have an exhibition this summer with Saudi artists as talented as Hmoud Al-Attawi or Ghada Al-Rabee.
Your outstanding tenderness or your astonishing artistic precociousness certainly explain the growth of your career. You participate wonderfully to the radiance of your native country, Morocco, whether it is in the region or, on a larger scale, on the international artistic stage.
Congratulations once again on this new cultural event. I hope to welcome you soon at the Institute of Arab World where you are always welcomed.
Yours sincerely,
Jack Laing"
Solo Exhibition Cover of Madiha Sebbani 'Until Further Notice' Curated by Andrew Lamprecht
"'Until Further Notice' presents a body of work by Moroccan-born, UK-based contemporary artist Madiha Sebbani in which she explores the complex interplay between the private and the public; silences and things spoken; as well as authority and personal identity and integrity. Deeply influenced by her experiences of the period of Covid-19 lockdown, the works exhibited nevertheless draw on a continued practice of several years that is embedded in audibly silent performativity.
How we 'perform' in a space, place and time of lockdown is an extremely rich and often anxiety-ridden terrain and Sebbani faces this challenge head-on in her work. In some ways we are 'all' in a state of waiting ‘until further notice’: it is as if the pause button has been pressed on a CD-player; the disc is still spinning frantically but there is no sound coming out of the speakers. Everything is insecure; nothing is set in stone; we are in a space of liminality. The artist has not been able to return to her home country due to Morocco's borders being closed: Sebbani is quite literally in an in-between space of tenuous ‘unsureness’ and has worked with this in expressing such emotions with power and - literally - authority.
The exhibition consists of three intricately crafted masks, where it is almost impossible to separate their donning and being performed by the artist from their material existence; stills of these objects being worn by Sebbani are integral to the show. These masks are made of materials such as copper and sheepskin and incorporate physical elements such as a crown that are vitally and viscerally charged with emblematic and historical memory.
In the 'Authority Project' the artist uses her body to interact with traces of individual and collective memory. Her body literally becomes a material alongside muslin, uniforms and traditional dresses, incorporating daily and militaristic gestures asking ‘What is the price of silence, the price of a bid?’ She notes: ‘All uniforms are the same - guardians of the law - authority has no face.’
Video footage and stills from the 'Mask Project' and the 'Authority Project' as well as the physical artefacts of the masks convey the full message of the 'body' of work on display.
In these works she attempts to overcome physical, symbolic and authority-imposed boundaries, always addressing and challenging these borders but staying ‘within the lines’ as required for one’s health and well-being (as much psychological as corporeal).
Madiha Sebbani reflects: ‘It has been necessary for me to use the body as an intermediate base or as a third material in this work.’
This is a powerful statement of where we are positioned now... at least until further notice." - Andrew Lamprecht
Group Exhibition Cover of 'Sacred' Curated By Madiha Sebbani
Participating Artists Include: Hicham Matini & Saad Nazih (Morocco); Hmoud Al Attawi, Ghada Al Rabee & Obaid Al Safi (Saudi Arabia); Tanisha Bhana, Bernard Brand, Allen Laing & Cow Mash (South Africa).
"2020 Has undoubtedly been a year of catastrophe and uncertainty which has perhaps forced humanity to adapt, reflect on our habitual practices, our future existence, spiritual rituals and inherited values, and how the rapid increase in technological progress have on our everyday lives.
Inspired by Albert Einstein who said that: "life is sacred, that is to say that it is the supreme value, to which all other values are subordinate" and Frank Capra, the Italian film director, who said that: "A hunch, is creativity trying to tell you something" engaging the interior of an artist in its immaterial quality and its relationship with their artistic practice.
Reflecting on the notion of Sacred, I wanted to explore varying perspectives from artists whose creative practices are inseparable from their beliefs, and how they transmute this intimate relationship into their everyday lives and work. The exhibition investigates the sacred as a global value aiming at creating a dialogue and providing insight into the various methodologies employed by the artists to shed light on their sacred studio work." - Madiha Sebbani
Image Credit: Madiha Sebbani l Courtesy of Ismail Nouri ©