An agreement with wool, ink on paper (141 x 190 cm) / 2025
AN AGREEMENT WITH WOOL
This project started as a commission for the charitable initiative The Green Wall, aimed at supporting rewilding efforts across Africa. El Gotaibi plays with juxtapositions in his work, and for this project, he aimed to illuminate the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature. Experimenting with new techniques and minimising human intervention, the artist allowed the materials themselves to guide the creative process. This represents a fundamental shift in El Gotaibi's practice, a deliberate stepping back from the position of absolute authorial control that typically defines artistic production. Where previous works saw the artist shaping materials according to predetermined vision, An Agreement With Wool proposes a different relationship, one based on collaboration rather than domination, on listening rather than imposing. The title itself signals this shift: an agreement suggests negotiation between parties, mutual consent, terms arrived at through dialogue rather than dictated by one side. By entering into agreement with wool, El Gotaibi acknowledges the material as agent in its own right, possessed of properties and tendencies that deserve respect rather than mere manipulation. The minimisation of human intervention does not mean absence of the artist but rather a reconfiguration of the artist's role from master to participant, from sole creator to witness of processes that unfold according to their own logic.
read more
AN AGREEMENT WITH WOOL
This project started as a commission for the charitable initiative The Green Wall, aimed at supporting rewilding efforts across Africa. El Gotaibi plays with juxtapositions in his work, and for this project, he aimed to illuminate the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature. Experimenting with new techniques and minimising human intervention, the artist allowed the materials themselves to guide the creative process. This represents a fundamental shift in El Gotaibi's practice, a deliberate stepping back from the position of absolute authorial control that typically defines artistic production. Where previous works saw the artist shaping materials according to predetermined vision, An Agreement With Wool proposes a different relationship, one based on collaboration rather than domination, on listening rather than imposing. The title itself signals this shift: an agreement suggests negotiation between parties, mutual consent, terms arrived at through dialogue rather than dictated by one side. By entering into agreement with wool, El Gotaibi acknowledges the material as agent in its own right, possessed of properties and tendencies that deserve respect rather than mere manipulation. The minimisation of human intervention does not mean absence of the artist but rather a reconfiguration of the artist's role from master to participant, from sole creator to witness of processes that unfold according to their own logic.
read more
AN AGREEMENT WITH WOOL
This project started as a commission for the charitable initiative The Green Wall, aimed at supporting rewilding efforts across Africa. El Gotaibi plays with juxtapositions in his work, and for this project, he aimed to illuminate the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature. Experimenting with new techniques and minimising human intervention, the artist allowed the materials themselves to guide the creative process. This represents a fundamental shift in El Gotaibi's practice, a deliberate stepping back from the position of absolute authorial control that typically defines artistic production. Where previous works saw the artist shaping materials according to predetermined vision, An Agreement With Wool proposes a different relationship, one based on collaboration rather than domination, on listening rather than imposing. The title itself signals this shift: an agreement suggests negotiation between parties, mutual consent, terms arrived at through dialogue rather than dictated by one side. By entering into agreement with wool, El Gotaibi acknowledges the material as agent in its own right, possessed of properties and tendencies that deserve respect rather than mere manipulation. The minimisation of human intervention does not mean absence of the artist but rather a reconfiguration of the artist's role from master to participant, from sole creator to witness of processes that unfold according to their own logic.
read more
An agreement with wool 5, Action V, ink on paper (141 x 110 cm) / 2025
An agreement with the wool 3, Action V, ink on paper (148 x 148 cm) / 2025
PROCESS IS POWER
He fused wool and ink, orchestrating a captivating interplay of textures and hues. The method embraces natural chemical reactions. As the wool interacted with its surroundings, intricate patterns emerged. The fusion of these materials, one organic fibre long associated with warmth and craft, the other liquid pigment traditionally controlled through careful application, creates conditions for unpredictable outcomes. The chemical reactions that occur when wool meets ink follow laws of physics and chemistry rather than aesthetic intention, producing patterns that no human hand could precisely replicate. These emergent forms carry the mark of natural process, the signature of molecular interaction rather than individual artistic gesture. El Gotaibi orchestrates initial conditions, selecting materials and establishing their proximity, but the patterns that develop exceed his control, arising from the wool's absorption capacity, the ink's viscosity, the ambient humidity, the temperature of the environment.
read more
PROCESS IS POWER
He fused wool and ink, orchestrating a captivating interplay of textures and hues. The method embraces natural chemical reactions. As the wool interacted with its surroundings, intricate patterns emerged. The fusion of these materials, one organic fibre long associated with warmth and craft, the other liquid pigment traditionally controlled through careful application, creates conditions for unpredictable outcomes. The chemical reactions that occur when wool meets ink follow laws of physics and chemistry rather than aesthetic intention, producing patterns that no human hand could precisely replicate. These emergent forms carry the mark of natural process, the signature of molecular interaction rather than individual artistic gesture. El Gotaibi orchestrates initial conditions, selecting materials and establishing their proximity, but the patterns that develop exceed his control, arising from the wool's absorption capacity, the ink's viscosity, the ambient humidity, the temperature of the environment.
read more
PROCESS IS POWER
He fused wool and ink, orchestrating a captivating interplay of textures and hues. The method embraces natural chemical reactions. As the wool interacted with its surroundings, intricate patterns emerged. The fusion of these materials, one organic fibre long associated with warmth and craft, the other liquid pigment traditionally controlled through careful application, creates conditions for unpredictable outcomes. The chemical reactions that occur when wool meets ink follow laws of physics and chemistry rather than aesthetic intention, producing patterns that no human hand could precisely replicate. These emergent forms carry the mark of natural process, the signature of molecular interaction rather than individual artistic gesture. El Gotaibi orchestrates initial conditions, selecting materials and establishing their proximity, but the patterns that develop exceed his control, arising from the wool's absorption capacity, the ink's viscosity, the ambient humidity, the temperature of the environment.
read more
An agreement with wool 3, Action IV, detail, ink on paper (190 x 141 cm) / 2025
An agreement with wool 3, Action IV, detail, ink on paper 190 x 141 cm / 2025
WOOL AS THE ARTIST
The culmination of this artistic exploration yielded a mesmerising series of ink works, wherein El Gotaibi relinquished artistic control to the raw materials. Through this process, he sought to underscore the innate beauty and resilience of the natural world, inviting viewers to contemplate their role within it. This is the first time the artist has allowed the wool to be the artist and have free form in how the materials chemically create an artwork that bridges between natural flow and man-made form. The proposition that wool itself might be artist rather than mere medium challenges fundamental assumptions about creativity, agency, and the hierarchies that position human intention above material behaviour. By granting wool this status, El Gotaibi suggests that artistry resides not solely in conscious decision-making but also in the inherent properties of matter, in the ways substances interact when given opportunity to do so without excessive constraint. Amy El Gotaibi
read more
WOOL AS THE ARTIST
The culmination of this artistic exploration yielded a mesmerising series of ink works, wherein El Gotaibi relinquished artistic control to the raw materials. Through this process, he sought to underscore the innate beauty and resilience of the natural world, inviting viewers to contemplate their role within it. This is the first time the artist has allowed the wool to be the artist and have free form in how the materials chemically create an artwork that bridges between natural flow and man-made form. The proposition that wool itself might be artist rather than mere medium challenges fundamental assumptions about creativity, agency, and the hierarchies that position human intention above material behaviour. By granting wool this status, El Gotaibi suggests that artistry resides not solely in conscious decision-making but also in the inherent properties of matter, in the ways substances interact when given opportunity to do so without excessive constraint. Amy El Gotaibi
read more
WOOL AS THE ARTIST
The culmination of this artistic exploration yielded a mesmerising series of ink works, wherein El Gotaibi relinquished artistic control to the raw materials. Through this process, he sought to underscore the innate beauty and resilience of the natural world, inviting viewers to contemplate their role within it. This is the first time the artist has allowed the wool to be the artist and have free form in how the materials chemically create an artwork that bridges between natural flow and man-made form. The proposition that wool itself might be artist rather than mere medium challenges fundamental assumptions about creativity, agency, and the hierarchies that position human intention above material behaviour. By granting wool this status, El Gotaibi suggests that artistry resides not solely in conscious decision-making but also in the inherent properties of matter, in the ways substances interact when given opportunity to do so without excessive constraint. Amy El Gotaibi
read more
An agreement with wool 3, Action IV, detail, ink on paper 190 x 141 cm / 2025
An agreement with wool 4, Acrion V, ink on paper (148 x 118 cm) / 2025
An agreement with wool 2, Action V, ink on paper 148 x 118 cm / 2025
An agreement with wool 1, Action I, ink on paper 148 x 118 cm / 2025
An agreement with wool 2, Action I, ink on paper (148 x 118 cm) / 2025
