Exhibition performance at AL MAQAM, Tahanaoute, Morocco / 2018
PERSPECTIVE OF SHEEP
Within this project, the artist focuses on the metaphor of the sheep itself, a symbol of collective following and the human need to be within a certain group, following a certain path or shepherd. El Gotaibi builds a lexicon of symbols for the sheep, each symbol representing one of the seven levels of society or archetypes, from the working class to royalty. He begins to use these symbols as a framework to show how these layers work with each other and live in both harmony and contradiction with one another. The sheep becomes a vessel through which social stratification can be examined, its familiar form allowing viewers to approach uncomfortable truths about hierarchy, compliance, and the distribution of agency across different positions within social structures. Each drawing presents a sheep in a well-defined posture corresponding to the social class the artist attributes to it in society, surrounded by lines like so many bars, visual markers of constraint and limitation.
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PERSPECTIVE DE BREBIS
(SHEEP'S PERSPECTIVE)
Within this project, the artist focuses on the metaphor of the sheep itself, a symbol of collective following and the human need to be within a certain group, following a certain path or shepherd. El Gotaibi builds a lexicon of symbols for the sheep, each symbol representing one of the seven levels of society or archetypes, from the working class to royalty. He begins to use these symbols as a framework to show how these layers work with each other and live in both harmony and contradiction with one another. The sheep becomes a vessel through which social stratification can be examined, its familiar form allowing viewers to approach uncomfortable truths about hierarchy, compliance, and the distribution of agency across different positions within social structures. Each drawing presents a sheep in a well-defined posture corresponding to the social class the artist attributes to it in society, surrounded by lines like so many bars, visual markers of constraint and limitation.
read more
PERSPECTIVE OF SHEEP
Within this project, the artist focuses on the metaphor of the sheep itself, a symbol of collective following and the human need to be within a certain group, following a certain path or shepherd. El Gotaibi builds a lexicon of symbols for the sheep, each symbol representing one of the seven levels of society or archetypes, from the working class to royalty. He begins to use these symbols as a framework to show how these layers work with each other and live in both harmony and contradiction with one another. The sheep becomes a vessel through which social stratification can be examined, its familiar form allowing viewers to approach uncomfortable truths about hierarchy, compliance, and the distribution of agency across different positions within social structures. Each drawing presents a sheep in a well-defined posture corresponding to the social class the artist attributes to it in society, surrounded by lines like so many bars, visual markers of constraint and limitation.
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The seducing sheep II: ink and pencil on paper, (75 x 100 cm) / 2018
THE SHEPARD
The exhibition performance "Sheep's Perspective," presented in 2018 at Al Maqam in Tahanaoute near the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, invites viewers to observe the world from a sheep's perspective. El Gotaibi adopts the role of improvised shepherd of a flock for which he takes great care, positioning these animals as emblematic symbols of the status of dependence and submission that would characterise the citizens of underdeveloped societies. In contrast to the caged ideal types depicted in his drawings, each confined within its designated category and surrounded by bars that mark the limits of its assigned position, the artist introduces living sheep to the exhibit that roam freely and blend in with visitors. This juxtaposition between representation and reality, between drawn sheep trapped within conceptual frameworks and actual sheep moving without restriction through the exhibition space, creates a productive tension. The living animals refuse to remain within the boundaries the artist has established for their symbolic counterparts, wandering among viewers who must navigate around them, acknowledge their physical presence, contend with their unpredictability.
read more
THE SHEPARD
The exhibition performance "Sheep's Perspective," presented in 2018 at Al Maqam in Tahanaoute near the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, invites viewers to observe the world from a sheep's perspective. El Gotaibi adopts the role of improvised shepherd of a flock for which he takes great care, positioning these animals as emblematic symbols of the status of dependence and submission that would characterise the citizens of underdeveloped societies. In contrast to the caged ideal types depicted in his drawings, each confined within its designated category and surrounded by bars that mark the limits of its assigned position, the artist introduces living sheep to the exhibit that roam freely and blend in with visitors. This juxtaposition between representation and reality, between drawn sheep trapped within conceptual frameworks and actual sheep moving without restriction through the exhibition space, creates a productive tension. The living animals refuse to remain within the boundaries the artist has established for their symbolic counterparts, wandering among viewers who must navigate around them, acknowledge their physical presence, contend with their unpredictability.
read more
THE SHEPARD
The exhibition performance "Sheep's Perspective," presented in 2018 at Al Maqam in Tahanaoute near the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, invites viewers to observe the world from a sheep's perspective. El Gotaibi adopts the role of improvised shepherd of a flock for which he takes great care, positioning these animals as emblematic symbols of the status of dependence and submission that would characterise the citizens of underdeveloped societies. In contrast to the caged ideal types depicted in his drawings, each confined within its designated category and surrounded by bars that mark the limits of its assigned position, the artist introduces living sheep to the exhibit that roam freely and blend in with visitors. This juxtaposition between representation and reality, between drawn sheep trapped within conceptual frameworks and actual sheep moving without restriction through the exhibition space, creates a productive tension. The living animals refuse to remain within the boundaries the artist has established for their symbolic counterparts, wandering among viewers who must navigate around them, acknowledge their physical presence, contend with their unpredictability.
read more
The red and the green: ink on paper, (150 x 120 cm) / 2020
HARMONY & CONTRADICTION
The seven levels of society represented through El Gotaibi's sheep lexicon exist in complex relationship to one another, living in both harmony and contradiction simultaneously. The working class sheep requires the aristocratic sheep to define its position just as the royal sheep depends upon the labouring classes to maintain the material conditions that support its elevated status. These interdependencies create systems that function with apparent smoothness, each level performing its assigned role in ways that allow the whole to operate. Yet this harmony conceals profound contradictions: the interests of different classes rarely align, the comfort of some necessarily depends upon the exploitation of others, and the maintenance of hierarchical structures requires constant enforcement to prevent collapse or reorganisation.
read more
HARMONY & CONTRADICTION
The seven levels of society represented through El Gotaibi's sheep lexicon exist in complex relationship to one another, living in both harmony and contradiction simultaneously. The working class sheep requires the aristocratic sheep to define its position just as the royal sheep depends upon the labouring classes to maintain the material conditions that support its elevated status. These interdependencies create systems that function with apparent smoothness, each level performing its assigned role in ways that allow the whole to operate. Yet this harmony conceals profound contradictions: the interests of different classes rarely align, the comfort of some necessarily depends upon the exploitation of others, and the maintenance of hierarchical structures requires constant enforcement to prevent collapse or reorganisation.
read more
HARMONY & CONTRADICTION
The seven levels of society represented through El Gotaibi's sheep lexicon exist in complex relationship to one another, living in both harmony and contradiction simultaneously. The working class sheep requires the aristocratic sheep to define its position just as the royal sheep depends upon the labouring classes to maintain the material conditions that support its elevated status. These interdependencies create systems that function with apparent smoothness, each level performing its assigned role in ways that allow the whole to operate. Yet this harmony conceals profound contradictions: the interests of different classes rarely align, the comfort of some necessarily depends upon the exploitation of others, and the maintenance of hierarchical structures requires constant enforcement to prevent collapse or reorganisation.
read more
Rupestre: ink on paper, (50 x 65 cm) / 2020
Rupestre: ink on paper, (50 x 65 cm) / 2020
The Renaissance: Ink and pencil on paper, (50 x 65 cm) / 2018
The Renaissance: Ink and pencil on paper, (50 x 65 cm) / 2018
