Mountain Installation: iron and wool, (300 x 450 cm) / 2021
PERSPECTIVE OF SEDUCTION
The dialogue between natural and man-made materials in Perspective of Seduction enacts a reconciliation between landscape and art, between the raw substance of earth and the cultural knowledge embedded in textiles. El Gotaibi works in collaboration with female weavers from mountain and desert communities, women whose relationship to wool has been primarily functional, shaped by the necessity and function of creating carpets and clothing. The artist invites these women to apply their ancestral techniques to new ends, creating art works that tell stories and articulate narratives capable of transcending the borders of individual existence and preserving their history. El Gotaibi creates works that carry within them the memory of landscape, forms and metaphors. These works within this project include playing with the narratives of mountain, desert, sheep and even Arabic script. The corten steel provides a canvas through which the wool is woven, with stories that can transcend time and capture a collective history. This material pairing, wool against oxidised metal, creates a dialogue between organic and industrial, between the soft fibres shaped by human hands and the rigid framework forged through heat and pressure.
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PERSPECTIVE OF SEDUCTION
The dialogue between natural and man-made materials in Perspective of Seduction enacts a reconciliation between landscape and art, between the raw substance of earth and the cultural knowledge embedded in textiles. El Gotaibi works in collaboration with female weavers from mountain and desert communities, women whose relationship to wool has been primarily functional, shaped by the necessity and function of creating carpets and clothing. The artist invites these women to apply their ancestral techniques to new ends, creating art works that tell stories and articulate narratives capable of transcending the borders of individual existence and preserving their history. El Gotaibi creates works that carry within them the memory of landscape, forms and metaphors. These works within this project include playing with the narratives of mountain, desert, sheep and even Arabic script. The corten steel provides a canvas through which the wool is woven, with stories that can transcend time and capture a collective history. This material pairing, wool against oxidised metal, creates a dialogue between organic and industrial, between the soft fibres shaped by human hands and the rigid framework forged through heat and pressure.
read more
PERSPECTIVE OF SEDUCTION
The dialogue between natural and man-made materials in Perspective of Seduction enacts a reconciliation between landscape and art, between the raw substance of earth and the cultural knowledge embedded in textiles. El Gotaibi works in collaboration with female weavers from mountain and desert communities, women whose relationship to wool has been primarily functional, shaped by the necessity and function of creating carpets and clothing. The artist invites these women to apply their ancestral techniques to new ends, creating art works that tell stories and articulate narratives capable of transcending the borders of individual existence and preserving their history. El Gotaibi creates works that carry within them the memory of landscape, forms and metaphors. These works within this project include playing with the narratives of mountain, desert, sheep and even Arabic script. The corten steel provides a canvas through which the wool is woven, with stories that can transcend time and capture a collective history. This material pairing, wool against oxidised metal, creates a dialogue between organic and industrial, between the soft fibres shaped by human hands and the rigid framework forged through heat and pressure.
read more
Desert Installation: iron and wool, (300 x 450 cm) / 2021
DESERT & MOUNTAIN
The desert and mountain forms emerge repeatedly within this project not as picturesque backdrops but as repositories of collective memory, landscapes charged with the weight of resistance and survival. Rooted in his North African origins, these terrains carry particular significance: they represent spaces of refuge where indigenous peoples escaped colonisation at every conquering event throughout Morocco's history. When armies advanced and empires sought to impose their rule upon the fertile plains and coastal cities, it was to the mountains and deserts that communities fled, finding in these harsh environments the possibility of autonomy that more hospitable lands could not provide. The mountain offers protection through its scale and inaccessibility, its peaks and valleys creating natural fortifications that have sheltered generations. The desert provides refuge through its vastness and severity, its apparent inhospitality becoming a form of defence against those who would seek to dominate or erase.
read more
DESERT & MOUNTAIN
The desert and mountain forms emerge repeatedly within this project not as picturesque backdrops but as repositories of collective memory, landscapes charged with the weight of resistance and survival. Rooted in his North African origins, these terrains carry particular significance: they represent spaces of refuge where indigenous peoples escaped colonisation at every conquering event throughout Morocco's history. When armies advanced and empires sought to impose their rule upon the fertile plains and coastal cities, it was to the mountains and deserts that communities fled, finding in these harsh environments the possibility of autonomy that more hospitable lands could not provide. The mountain offers protection through its scale and inaccessibility, its peaks and valleys creating natural fortifications that have sheltered generations. The desert provides refuge through its vastness and severity, its apparent inhospitality becoming a form of defence against those who would seek to dominate or erase.
read more
DESERT & MOUNTAIN
The desert and mountain forms emerge repeatedly within this project not as picturesque backdrops but as repositories of collective memory, landscapes charged with the weight of resistance and survival. Rooted in his North African origins, these terrains carry particular significance: they represent spaces of refuge where indigenous peoples escaped colonisation at every conquering event throughout Morocco's history. When armies advanced and empires sought to impose their rule upon the fertile plains and coastal cities, it was to the mountains and deserts that communities fled, finding in these harsh environments the possibility of autonomy that more hospitable lands could not provide. The mountain offers protection through its scale and inaccessibility, its peaks and valleys creating natural fortifications that have sheltered generations. The desert provides refuge through its vastness and severity, its apparent inhospitality becoming a form of defence against those who would seek to dominate or erase.
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Construction detail of the Desert Installation: iron and wool, (300 x 450 cm) / 2021
METAPHORS & SYMBOLISM
For the artist, the ability to use metaphors and symbolism carved into the corten steel provides a unique form of storytelling. There is precise engineering that informs how the artist decides on each form and then creates holes into the corten that cumulatively constitute these symbols. In the work "From Pheonix sheep to Seduction Sheep," the artist plays with two forms of sheep, each representing authority and rebellion. These levels of society live in direct competition with each other, yet without the other would also not exist. The wool is pulled through each form and then brought into tension with each other, abstracting the forms of sheep while telling a story of how the existence of tension within our society today is ever present and to some degree part of the balance of life. This duality, enacted through material and form, speaks to the fundamental interdependence of opposing forces: power requires resistance to define itself, rebellion needs authority to push against, and neither can exist in isolation. The precision required to create these perforations in steel, the careful calculation of placement and scale that allows wool to pass through and create recognisable imagery, represents a marriage of technical skill and conceptual vision. Amy El Gotaibi
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METAPHORS & SYMBOLISM
For the artist, the ability to use metaphors and symbolism carved into the corten steel provides a unique form of storytelling. There is precise engineering that informs how the artist decides on each form and then creates holes into the corten that cumulatively constitute these symbols. In the work "From Pheonix sheep to Seduction Sheep," the artist plays with two forms of sheep, each representing authority and rebellion. These levels of society live in direct competition with each other, yet without the other would also not exist. The wool is pulled through each form and then brought into tension with each other, abstracting the forms of sheep while telling a story of how the existence of tension within our society today is ever present and to some degree part of the balance of life. This duality, enacted through material and form, speaks to the fundamental interdependence of opposing forces: power requires resistance to define itself, rebellion needs authority to push against, and neither can exist in isolation. The precision required to create these perforations in steel, the careful calculation of placement and scale that allows wool to pass through and create recognisable imagery, represents a marriage of technical skill and conceptual vision. Amy El Gotaibi
read more
METAPHORS & SYMBOLISM
For the artist, the ability to use metaphors and symbolism carved into the corten steel provides a unique form of storytelling. There is precise engineering that informs how the artist decides on each form and then creates holes into the corten that cumulatively constitute these symbols. In the work "From Pheonix sheep to Seduction Sheep," the artist plays with two forms of sheep, each representing authority and rebellion. These levels of society live in direct competition with each other, yet without the other would also not exist. The wool is pulled through each form and then brought into tension with each other, abstracting the forms of sheep while telling a story of how the existence of tension within our society today is ever present and to some degree part of the balance of life. This duality, enacted through material and form, speaks to the fundamental interdependence of opposing forces: power requires resistance to define itself, rebellion needs authority to push against, and neither can exist in isolation. The precision required to create these perforations in steel, the careful calculation of placement and scale that allows wool to pass through and create recognisable imagery, represents a marriage of technical skill and conceptual vision. Amy El Gotaibi
read more
Wool slope: iron and wool, (230 x 130 x 40 cm) / 2023
Wool slope: iron and wool, (230 x 130 x 40 cm) / 2023
Phoenix diptych, iron and wool, 2 x (74 x 110 cm) / 2019
Phoenix diptych, iron and wool, 2 x (74 x 110 cm) / 2019
