For the 2023 edition of Art Genève we exhibited a solo booth featuring A Language Under My Skin series by Sadik Kwaish Alfraji.
“Thinking is what shapes my decisions, but my thinking is governed by my imagination and fantasies, which in turn are shaped by a language that permeates every corner of my being”, — Sadik Kwaish Alfraji.
Does language shape us, or is it merely a tool for communication and expression? Sadik explores the complexities inherent in these questions through his animation, large-scale drawings, and paintings. Encompassed in the works are the questions of what makes a language. Is it the words or their image? Is it the phonetics or the symbols? The intonations or the gestures? Language occurs in the combination of the above. Alfraji tries to bring forward one of the many faces of language.
We are born into worlds, environments, and circumstances that are outside of our control - we are born into language. The languages we speak impact how we think about, and interact with, our environments. They influence our thought processes, feelings, and perception of time and space. Alfraji’s work echoes the notions of the body as language, a carrier of shapes and meaning.