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Habib Saher
Cultural Destruction, 2024
Mixed materials, plexiglass
85 x 72 x 45 cm

“I was obsessed with this totem”, shares Habib, referring to his work Cultural Destruction —a statue embodying a totem. This was one of the authentic sculptures of it in the Middle East, which was eventually destroyed some years ago by ISIS. As it stands outside the realm of Western influence, this ancient totem is caught in the slow dance of decay, destruction and existentialism. 

The sculpture faces a ball, suspended in time and tension, waiting to swing. Every time a coin is dropped in the installation, the kinetic sculpture comes alive; the ball swings against the statue, chipping it away, bit by bit. This statue’s slow transformation and degradation reflects a profound tangible metaphor, it lives out the same process we do, it fades and dissolves, ”just like the statue, we have a finite life” says Habib.

As with humans, this sculpture is marked by time: each strike leaving a scar, led by a different experience, story, coin, inevitably leading to its erosion. Through it, we catch a glimpse of ourselves, it’s slowly disappearing, yet somehow, in that fading, it becomes more powerful. The evolving installation offers a reminder of impermanence quietly enduring beautifully, as part of its existence. This repetitive act symbolises the wear of existence mirroring human experience and prompting us to contemplate our own journey and mortality.

The appearance of this statue has taken on different forms over its life- from a body to a totem, now to a head resembling a monk, unintentionally. Currently this meditative looking stoic figure looks peaceful, as though accepting gracefully every hit, when he becomes part of the installation. 

Stay tuned, to see the continuing evolution of Habib’s “Cultural Destruction”. 

If you’d like to learn more about the artist and their practice, check out their page on our website.