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Sara Ouhaddou - Les mains fertiles - Fertile hands, 2024 - Rusina Gallery, Ortisei

Sara Ouhaddou, Les mains fertiles - Fertile hands, 2024. Half-Relief and Sculptures. Wood. Variable Dimensions. Commissioned by Biennale Gherdëina 9. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo

Born in France into a family of Moroccan origins, Sara Ouhaddou interweaves the two cultures in a continuous dialogue. Her research focuses on traditional art forms and local crafts, which she adopts to create contemporary artworks that serve as a common thread between past and present. She often works with local communities, particularly craftspeople and researchers, transforming the process of reaching the final form of the work into a project of learning, exchange of knowledge and stories.

The work designed for The Parliament of Marmots reflects on the traditional wood art of Val Gardena. The artist collaborated with a local sculptor, Helene Demetz, to create small wood sculptures that are displayed in a shop window in the centre of Ortisei, usually occupied by local crafts. In the shop window, the artist created a setting inspired by the words of the poet Mririda N’Ait Attik the Amazigh. The sculptures, depicting animals indigenous to Val Gardena, such as bears, snakes, wolves, foxes and eagles, are inspired by the art of zoomorphic pottery, practised in the Atlas mountains in Morocco since the Neolithic period. Traditionally modelled in clay (or wood, in Val Gardena) by women in front of the breadovens or the fires where food is cooked, these simple and timeless figures may be used as toys, amulets and protectors for small children. (M.P.)

SARA OUHADDOU

Sara Ouhaddou (1986, Draguignan, France) lives between Morocco and France. She was born in France in a Moroccan family and this dual culture informs her practice as a continuous dialogue. She studied at the École Olivier De Serres, Paris. Her work has been exhibited at Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo, Paris; MUCEM - Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean, and Manifesta 13, Marseille; Bauhaus Dessau Foundation; Marrakech Biennale. She also participated in the following programs and residencies: Villa Albertine, IASPIS Stockholm, Art Explora x La cité Internationale des Arts and La cité Internationale des Arts x Daniel and Nina Carasso.

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Sara Ouhaddou - Les mains fertiles - Fertile hands, 2024 - Rusina Gallery, Ortisei

Sara Ouhaddou, Les mains fertiles - Fertile hands, 2024. Half-Relief and Sculptures. Wood. Variable Dimensions. Commissioned by Biennale Gherdëina 9. Photo by Tiberio Sorvillo

Born in France into a family of Moroccan origins, Sara Ouhaddou interweaves the two cultures in a continuous dialogue. Her research focuses on traditional art forms and local crafts, which she adopts to create contemporary artworks that serve as a common thread between past and present. She often works with local communities, particularly craftspeople and researchers, transforming the process of reaching the final form of the work into a project of learning, exchange of knowledge and stories.

The work designed for The Parliament of Marmots reflects on the traditional wood art of Val Gardena. The artist collaborated with a local sculptor, Helene Demetz, to create small wood sculptures that are displayed in a shop window in the centre of Ortisei, usually occupied by local crafts. In the shop window, the artist created a setting inspired by the words of the poet Mririda N’Ait Attik the Amazigh. The sculptures, depicting animals indigenous to Val Gardena, such as bears, snakes, wolves, foxes and eagles, are inspired by the art of zoomorphic pottery, practised in the Atlas mountains in Morocco since the Neolithic period. Traditionally modelled in clay (or wood, in Val Gardena) by women in front of the breadovens or the fires where food is cooked, these simple and timeless figures may be used as toys, amulets and protectors for small children. (M.P.)

SARA OUHADDOU

Sara Ouhaddou (1986, Draguignan, France) lives between Morocco and France. She was born in France in a Moroccan family and this dual culture informs her practice as a continuous dialogue. She studied at the École Olivier De Serres, Paris. Her work has been exhibited at Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo, Paris; MUCEM - Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean, and Manifesta 13, Marseille; Bauhaus Dessau Foundation; Marrakech Biennale. She also participated in the following programs and residencies: Villa Albertine, IASPIS Stockholm, Art Explora x La cité Internationale des Arts and La cité Internationale des Arts x Daniel and Nina Carasso.