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 an exhibition 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. Afif’s practice is rooted in music: scores, instruments, speakers, microphones, concerts and posters are part of his vocabulary or media. Other recurring interests include the passing of time, appropriation, remakes or repetitions and the displacement of meaning, and the critique of institutions.

Saâdane Afif (b. 1970, Vendôme, France) lives and works in Berlin. Recent solo exhibitions include Saâdane Afif. The Fountain Archives and Beyond at Fundació Tapiès, Barcelona (2021); The Fountain Archives at Jumex, Mexico (2019); This is Ornamental at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2018); Paroles at WIELS, Brussels (2018); and The Fountain Archives at Centre Pompidou, Paris (traveling exhibition, 2017). His work was included in Documenta 12 (2007) and in the 56th International Exhibition of the Venice Bienniale (2015). The artist won the Prix Marcel Duchamp in 2009 and the Prix Meurice pour l’art contemporain in 2015.