21.10.2020
Saâdane Afif
Defined as ‘post-conceptual’, Saâdane Afif’s work is about interpretation, exchange and circulation. It takes multiple forms (performance, objects, sculptures, text, posters and works in neon) with the exhibition as a pretext for production or activation. For a show in Essen in 2004, he asked Lili Reynaud Dewar to write a song inspired by his artwork; this was the beginning of the series called Lyrics for which he displaces his authorship and collaborates with other artists or writers. The texts or statements are often transferred to the walls using holographic self-adhesive paper. Afif’s practice is rooted in music: scores, instruments, amplifiers, speakers, microphones, concerts are part of his vocabulary or media. Other recurring interests include the passing of time (skulls, clocks), appropriation, remakes or repetitions and the displacement of meaning, and the critique of institutions. In 2010 Afif wrote: “My work today does not rely on the object: it is developed through the accumulation or interweaving of elements that can be more or less visible.”
Saâdane Afif’s first solo show was in Tours in France in 1998. He was awarded the Prix Marcel Duchamp, which led to an exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, in 2010. His work is exhibited internationally and was included in Documenta 12, Kassel, in 2007. A solo show will take place in 2013 at IAC, Villeurbanne, France. Blue Time vs. Suspense was his first exhibition at Xavier Hufkens in 2007.
Saâdane Afif was born in Vendôme, France, in 1970. He lives and works in Berlin.