Saâdane Afif Heritages (Sedia, 1123xQ and 1123xR), 2013

The concepts of translation and transmission is key to Saâdane Afif‘s work. As part of the 2013 edition of the Sharjah Biennial (curated by Yuko Hasegawa), he ordered furniture made of arish, the local palm leaves. Upon Afif‘s instructions, the craftsman“Jamal“ followed the concepts Enzo Mari sketched in his booklet „Proposal for Self-Design“ from 1974. The resulting works, a series of 10 chairs titled Heritages (Sedia, 1123xQ) and Heritages (Sedia, 1123xR), merge 1970s Italian design with Saudi artisanal heritage, as a hybrid of tradition and modernity. The English transcript of a conversation held in French and Arabic between Afif, Jamal and the translator emphasises the many layers of the project.

Invited by Nicolas Bourriaud for a solo exhibition at La Panacée in Montpellier, Saâdane Afif underlined the oral transmission of the project above with a performance with four actors declaiming the conversation between the artist, the translator Momen and the craftsman Jamal.