Dry River Realization Process – First Mock-up / 2011
RIVIERE SECHE (DRY RIVER)
Leaning over the edge of a river, Amine El Gotaibi detected there the reflection of the concept of the Nation-State. The question is in the ordering of the devices because as soon as there was civilization there was a form of state. The contemporary state has a territory, a government and a population. It is the legitimate body of political, legal and fiscal power within its borders. Passionate as usual, El Gotaibi reconstructed models of rivers in the heart of nature. He would dig furrows in the earth or sand in order to place small white figurines. Thanks to the photographic tool and by a demiurge gesture, his reduced models offered him an amplitude of staging. The figurines then become characters are repeated in a civilizational multitude. This work on terrestrial matter is a pivotal stage in his work.
read more
RIVIERE SECHE (DRY RIVER)
Leaning over the edge of a river, Amine El Gotaibi detected there the reflection of the concept of the Nation-State. The question is in the ordering of the devices because as soon as there was civilization there was a form of state. The contemporary state has a territory, a government and a population. It is the legitimate body of political, legal and fiscal power within its borders. Passionate as usual, El Gotaibi reconstructed models of rivers in the heart of nature. He would dig furrows in the earth or sand in order to place small white figurines. Thanks to the photographic tool and by a demiurge gesture, his reduced models offered him an amplitude of staging. The figurines then become characters are repeated in a civilizational multitude. This work on terrestrial matter is a pivotal stage in his work.
read more
RIVIERE SECHE (DRY RIVER)
Leaning over the edge of a river, Amine El Gotaibi detected there the reflection of the concept of the Nation-State. The question is in the ordering of the devices because as soon as there was civilization there was a form of state. The contemporary state has a territory, a government and a population. It is the legitimate body of political, legal and fiscal power within its borders. Passionate as usual, El Gotaibi reconstructed models of rivers in the heart of nature. He would dig furrows in the earth or sand in order to place small white figurines. Thanks to the photographic tool and by a demiurge gesture, his reduced models offered him an amplitude of staging. The figurines then become characters are repeated in a civilizational multitude. This work on terrestrial matter is a pivotal stage in his work.
read more
Mock-up, 166 x 90 x 106 cm / 2021
Illuminate the Light / Installation of 7 Corten steel sculptures
in the Somerset House Courtyard / 2023
Illuminate the Light / Installation of 7 Corten steel sculptures
in the Somerset House Courtyard / 2023
CIVILIZATION'S STARTING POINT
Dry river is a work in progress that serves as the starting point for Amine El Gotaibi’s current work and has given birth to many of his projects. A symbol of fertility, once dry the river holds the profound memory of the life and abundance it once welcomed. This remaining trace of water's flow becomes a powerful metaphor for residual history. As a starting point for the artist’s examination of civilizations, the fate of species, or the elusive notion of time, the visible trace of the former riverbed embodies the persistent, haunting memory of everything that the artist cannot keep from questioning in his practice. The barren earth serves as a testament to former vitality, making the landscape itself a witness to cycles of creation and disappearance.
read more
CIVILIZATION'S STARTING POINT
Dry river is a work in progress that serves as the starting point for Amine El Gotaibi’s current work and has given birth to many of his projects. A symbol of fertility, once dry the river holds the profound memory of the life and abundance it once welcomed. This remaining trace of water's flow becomes a powerful metaphor for residual history. As a starting point for the artist’s examination of civilizations, the fate of species, or the elusive notion of time, the visible trace of the former riverbed embodies the persistent, haunting memory of everything that the artist cannot keep from questioning in his practice. The barren earth serves as a testament to former vitality, making the landscape itself a witness to cycles of creation and disappearance.
read more
CIVILIZATION'S STARTING POINT
Dry river is a work in progress that serves as the starting point for Amine El Gotaibi’s current work and has given birth to many of his projects. A symbol of fertility, once dry the river holds the profound memory of the life and abundance it once welcomed. This remaining trace of water's flow becomes a powerful metaphor for residual history. As a starting point for the artist’s examination of civilizations, the fate of species, or the elusive notion of time, the visible trace of the former riverbed embodies the persistent, haunting memory of everything that the artist cannot keep from questioning in his practice. The barren earth serves as a testament to former vitality, making the landscape itself a witness to cycles of creation and disappearance.
read more
Mock-up, 166 x 90 x 106 cm / 2021
Illuminate the Light / Installation of 7 Corten steel sculptures
in the Somerset House Courtyard / 2023
Illuminate the Light / Installation of 7 Corten steel sculptures
in the Somerset House Courtyard / 2023
DECLINE OF THE SOURCE
A dry river sounds like a contradiction in terms, a paradox etched into the landscape. We think of a river, a waterway, as the ultimate original source, the quintessential cradle. It is a source of life that carries with it a flow of microorganisms and thus life itself, a constant symbol of movement and vitality. That which is dry is by no means entirely devoid of life or memory; nevertheless, its matter and current state are relentlessly heading towards an abrupt decline. This silent transformation foregrounds an essential meditation on vulnerability and the ephemeral nature of abundance.
read more
DECLINE OF THE SOURCE
A dry river sounds like a contradiction in terms, a paradox etched into the landscape. We think of a river, a waterway, as the ultimate original source, the quintessential cradle. It is a source of life that carries with it a flow of microorganisms and thus life itself, a constant symbol of movement and vitality. That which is dry is by no means entirely devoid of life or memory; nevertheless, its matter and current state are relentlessly heading towards an abrupt decline. This silent transformation foregrounds an essential meditation on vulnerability and the ephemeral nature of abundance.
read more
DECLINE OF THE SOURCE
A dry river sounds like a contradiction in terms, a paradox etched into the landscape. We think of a river, a waterway, as the ultimate original source, the quintessential cradle. It is a source of life that carries with it a flow of microorganisms and thus life itself, a constant symbol of movement and vitality. That which is dry is by no means entirely devoid of life or memory; nevertheless, its matter and current state are relentlessly heading towards an abrupt decline. This silent transformation foregrounds an essential meditation on vulnerability and the ephemeral nature of abundance.
read more
Black Hole: Fine Art Pigment Print, 74 x 110 cm / 2011
Illuminate the Light / Installation of 7 Corten steel sculptures
in the Somerset House Courtyard / 2023
Illuminate the Light / Installation of 7 Corten steel sculptures
in the Somerset House Courtyard / 2023
