← BACK TO ARTISTS

Katia Kameli - Huppe, 2022 and The canticle of the birds, variation, 2023 - Spazio Ferdianand Stuflesser, Pontives

Katia Kameli, Huppe, 2022. Sound sculpture, chromatic ocarina, tablature in C attached, sandstone grog. Courtesy of the Artist. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo
Katia Kameli, The canticle of the birds, variation, 2023. Film UHD, 5.1, 25’. Courtesy of the Artist. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo

The work of French-Algerian artist Katia Kameli is closely linked to her own origins and the different cultures that construct her identity. Starting from personal experience, her works explore the “in-between” zones where traditional culture meets contemporary culture, focusing mainly on territories such as Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Through photography, film and installation, the artist works as a translator, mixing languages and identities and giving birth to a new hybrid language.

The work on view at Pontives, Huppe (2022), is a sound sculpture that is part of a choral sculptural group, produced on the occasion of the exhibition at La Criée Contemporary Art Center, entitled Le Cantique des oiseaux (The Canticle of the Birds). The exhibition takes its title from the most recent translation (edited by Leili Anvar) of the poem by the 12th-century Persian author Farîd-udDîn ‘Attâr. The text recounts the journey of thousand birds led by the wisest among them, the hoopoe (hodhod in Persian) in search of Simorgh, a mythological creature of Persian tradition who was said to live at the peak of mount Qaf, the mythical mountain. Along this journey through seven valleys, which is nothing but a metaphor for life, some birds abandon their companions, and only about 30 reach the end of the journey and ultimately realize that Simorgh is their own reflection. Kameli translates the words of the poem into a flock of bird ceramics of different sizes, each characterized by its own melody, which the artist has brought together in a chorus that can symbolize the importance of self-discovery and collective action. (M.P.) 

KATIA KAMELI

Katia Kameli (1973, Clermont-Ferrand, France) considers herself a translator who rewrites stories extending meanings and forms. Recent solo exhibitions include Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen Gallery, Stuttgart and Berlin; Institut des Cultures d’Islam, and Bétonsalon - Centre d’art et de recherche, Paris; Le Domaine du Rayol - Le Jardin des Méditerranées, Rayol; La Criée, Rennes; FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Marseille; Kalmar Konstmuseum; Kunsthalle Münster. Amongst her collective exhibitions: Kulturni centar Beograda, Belgrade; City of Women Festival, Ljubljana; Biennale de Dakar; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Mucem, Marseille; Biennale de Marrakech. Nominated for the AWARE prize and winner of the Les Mondes Nouveaux program in 2022, her works are part of a number of public collections including Center Georges Pompidou and CNAP, Center National des Arts Plastiques, Paris; FRAC Hauts-de-France, Dunkirk; FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Angoulême; FRAC PACA, Marseille; and BPS22, Charleroi.

← BACK TO ARTISTS

Katia Kameli - Huppe, 2022 and The canticle of the birds, variation, 2023 - Spazio Ferdianand Stuflesser, Pontives

Katia Kameli, Huppe, 2022. Sound sculpture, chromatic ocarina, tablature in C attached, sandstone grog. Courtesy of the Artist. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo
Katia Kameli, The canticle of the birds, variation, 2023. Film UHD, 5.1, 25’. Courtesy of the Artist. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo

The work of French-Algerian artist Katia Kameli is closely linked to her own origins and the different cultures that construct her identity. Starting from personal experience, her works explore the “in-between” zones where traditional culture meets contemporary culture, focusing mainly on territories such as Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Through photography, film and installation, the artist works as a translator, mixing languages and identities and giving birth to a new hybrid language.

The work on view at Pontives, Huppe (2022), is a sound sculpture that is part of a choral sculptural group, produced on the occasion of the exhibition at La Criée Contemporary Art Center, entitled Le Cantique des oiseaux (The Canticle of the Birds). The exhibition takes its title from the most recent translation (edited by Leili Anvar) of the poem by the 12th-century Persian author Farîd-udDîn ‘Attâr. The text recounts the journey of thousand birds led by the wisest among them, the hoopoe (hodhod in Persian) in search of Simorgh, a mythological creature of Persian tradition who was said to live at the peak of mount Qaf, the mythical mountain. Along this journey through seven valleys, which is nothing but a metaphor for life, some birds abandon their companions, and only about 30 reach the end of the journey and ultimately realize that Simorgh is their own reflection. Kameli translates the words of the poem into a flock of bird ceramics of different sizes, each characterized by its own melody, which the artist has brought together in a chorus that can symbolize the importance of self-discovery and collective action. (M.P.) 

KATIA KAMELI

Katia Kameli (1973, Clermont-Ferrand, France) considers herself a translator who rewrites stories extending meanings and forms. Recent solo exhibitions include Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen Gallery, Stuttgart and Berlin; Institut des Cultures d’Islam, and Bétonsalon - Centre d’art et de recherche, Paris; Le Domaine du Rayol - Le Jardin des Méditerranées, Rayol; La Criée, Rennes; FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Marseille; Kalmar Konstmuseum; Kunsthalle Münster. Amongst her collective exhibitions: Kulturni centar Beograda, Belgrade; City of Women Festival, Ljubljana; Biennale de Dakar; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Mucem, Marseille; Biennale de Marrakech. Nominated for the AWARE prize and winner of the Les Mondes Nouveaux program in 2022, her works are part of a number of public collections including Center Georges Pompidou and CNAP, Center National des Arts Plastiques, Paris; FRAC Hauts-de-France, Dunkirk; FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Angoulême; FRAC PACA, Marseille; and BPS22, Charleroi.