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Tribute to Lin May Saeed - Works 2006-2023 - Sala Trenker, Ortisei

Tribute to Lin May Saeed, Works 2006 – 2023. Sculptures, Reliefs, Cut-Paper Silhouette. Realized by GAMeC, Bergamo in Collaboration with Biennale Gherdëina 9. Courtesy of The Estate of Lin May Saeed and Jacky Strenz, Frankfurt/Main. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo

For over two decades, in her artistic work, the sculptor and animal activist Lin May Saeed (1973-2023) has focused on the relationship between humans and animals, and on the destruction of the animal world’s habitat by humans since the Neolithic Age. Her sculptures, reliefs, drawings, cut-paper silhouettes and installations deal with the exploitation of animals, their liberation and the utopia of peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. As an activist fighting for the defence of animals, in her ‘works of hope’, the artist explores images of friendship and spaces of encounter and reconciliation between species. For example, her series The Liberation of Animals from their Cages shows activists who are liberating or have liberated animals. Lin May Saeed creates transcultural and interspecies narratives, time travels across history to envisage an alternative common future. For her sculptures and reliefs, she deliberately used polystyrene, despite being aware that the main component of this material is derived from petroleum. Indeed, she was convinced that polystyrene could reveal something about the present and human fallibility.

The retrospective dedicated to Lin May Saeed, who passed away prematurely in 2023, is presented simultaneously in the context of Biennale Gherdëina 9 and at the GAMeC in Bergamo, through a shared exhibition itinerary. In Ortisei, the selection of works focuses on the relationship between humans and animals, in a narrative drawing on myth, fairytales and legends. (S.F.)

LIN MAY SAEED 

Lin May Saeed (1973, Würzburg – 2023, Berlin, Germany) studied sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy where she became interested in animal rights, studied the animal rights philosopher Tom Regan and took part in protests against the fur trade. She has lived vegan ever since. After moving from Düsseldorf to Berlin, she founded the exhibition space Center in Berlin-Tiergarten in 2003, which she ran until 2009. From 2008 to 2010, Lin May Saeed taught sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Her solo exhibitions include: Buitenplaats Kasteel Wijlre (upcoming); GAMeC, Bergamo; Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin; Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles; Jacky Strenz, Frankfurt/Main; Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; What Pipeline, Detroit; Studio Voltaire, London; Lulu, Mexico City. Her work has also been part of the Vienna Climate Biennale, Amsterdam Sculpture Biennale and 9th Berlin Biennale. 

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Tribute to Lin May Saeed - Works 2006-2023 - Sala Trenker, Ortisei

Tribute to Lin May Saeed, Works 2006 – 2023. Sculptures, Reliefs, Cut-Paper Silhouette. Realized by GAMeC, Bergamo in Collaboration with Biennale Gherdëina 9. Courtesy of The Estate of Lin May Saeed and Jacky Strenz, Frankfurt/Main. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo

For over two decades, in her artistic work, the sculptor and animal activist Lin May Saeed (1973-2023) has focused on the relationship between humans and animals, and on the destruction of the animal world’s habitat by humans since the Neolithic Age. Her sculptures, reliefs, drawings, cut-paper silhouettes and installations deal with the exploitation of animals, their liberation and the utopia of peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. As an activist fighting for the defence of animals, in her ‘works of hope’, the artist explores images of friendship and spaces of encounter and reconciliation between species. For example, her series The Liberation of Animals from their Cages shows activists who are liberating or have liberated animals. Lin May Saeed creates transcultural and interspecies narratives, time travels across history to envisage an alternative common future. For her sculptures and reliefs, she deliberately used polystyrene, despite being aware that the main component of this material is derived from petroleum. Indeed, she was convinced that polystyrene could reveal something about the present and human fallibility.

The retrospective dedicated to Lin May Saeed, who passed away prematurely in 2023, is presented simultaneously in the context of Biennale Gherdëina 9 and at the GAMeC in Bergamo, through a shared exhibition itinerary. In Ortisei, the selection of works focuses on the relationship between humans and animals, in a narrative drawing on myth, fairytales and legends. (S.F.)

LIN MAY SAEED 

Lin May Saeed (1973, Würzburg – 2023, Berlin, Germany) studied sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy where she became interested in animal rights, studied the animal rights philosopher Tom Regan and took part in protests against the fur trade. She has lived vegan ever since. After moving from Düsseldorf to Berlin, she founded the exhibition space Center in Berlin-Tiergarten in 2003, which she ran until 2009. From 2008 to 2010, Lin May Saeed taught sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Her solo exhibitions include: Buitenplaats Kasteel Wijlre (upcoming); GAMeC, Bergamo; Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin; Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles; Jacky Strenz, Frankfurt/Main; Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; What Pipeline, Detroit; Studio Voltaire, London; Lulu, Mexico City. Her work has also been part of the Vienna Climate Biennale, Amsterdam Sculpture Biennale and 9th Berlin Biennale.