Farid Belkahia

Private Collection, Tunisia (acquired directly from the artist in 1990)

Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is very minor wear on the lower left and upper right corner tips. The outer edges of the board are slightly irregular due to the nature of the medium. Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are accurate; however, the blue tends towards a lighter hue and the crème tones are richer in the original work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Farid Belkahia is one of the most prominent contemporary Moroccan artists. Developing new iconography that came to influence an entire generation of artists, his works are diverse alphabets of memories and mysticism. As early as 1962, Belkahia sought to create this new iconography inspired by Moroccan tradition. It was during this time he returned to Morocco and was appointed the Director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca, where he taught the principles of Arabic calligraphy, which he believed to be a necessary component of modern painting. Two years later Belkahia formed the artistic school known as the ‘Casablanca Group’ with contemporaries, Mohammad Melehi and Mohamed Chebaa. The movement was concerned with bridging the gap between craft and art, deviating from European academic teachings, and embracing ancient native painting traditions. The group replaced models of Greek statues and still life paintings at the Ecole with reproductions of Moroccan handicrafts. Classes were held to teach students how to draw folkloric geometric patterns, design jewellery and carpets and there was a strong focus and continuous theme of indigenous handicraft.

Continuing in this direction, Belkahia abandoned canvas and oil paint in 1965, turning to natural pigments and organic surfaces. His colours were thereafter sourced from mineral and plant origin, featuring henna, saffron, cobalt, and pomegranate skin. Belkahia also worked with copper, which he folded, cut and nailed to wood, often using circular forms which annul the classic rectangular frame. After copper, Belkahia gravitated towards animal skin. Belkahia uses vellum that is washed, scraped and dried before it is applied. He developed a distinct style of stretched leather paintings which incorporated popular signs, motifs, numbers, Arabic calligraphy and characters taken from Berber script. He later focused on erotic themes whilst using the same style and medium.

Memory is a focal point of inspiration in Belkahia’s artworks, its invisible nature, an abstraction where past and future collide and fuse into a state which is eternal. This imperceptible notion of memory is the essential foundation to Belkahia’s masterpieces. His works on vellum which he initiated in 1974 were a metaphysical quest to recall such memories, and via doing so exploring the ambivalence of beings and things. In the present work, the artist’s use of animal skin evokes the sacrifice of the animal and his use of colourful henna motifs awaken the memory of joyful ceremonies; such as, weddings and circumcision. Practises of society, symbolic of the man and the nature of the beast are captured in his layered mediums which he unites into a single vital energy.

Smagh, another natural colorant that Belkahia employs in this work, has been used throughout history for inscribing wooden tablets with the sacred writings of the Qur’an. Vellum was one of the first materials to have been used since prehistoric times, it is also the material of parchment, used for preserving the memories of the greatest civilisations; and was also used to record some of the earliest copies of the Qur’an.

The skin is the most vital part of the body, it has sensual memory, of touch and temperature, it can be branded and scalded. Skin remembers pleasure and pain, heat and cold. It is this essence that Belkahia chooses to convey in his use of vellum, embedding memory, sensuality and mysticism via his dynamic artworks.