Steve Sabella (Palestinian, b. 1975)
DONATED BY THE ARTISTS TO SUPPORT THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME
Steve Sabella (Palestinian, b. 1975)

Cécile Elise Sabella

Details
Steve Sabella (Palestinian, b. 1975)
Cécile Elise Sabella
signed in Arabic, signed, titled, numbered and dated 'Steve Sabella Cécile Elise Sabella 2008 1/5' (on the reverse)
lambda print hand-stitched on canvas
23 5/8 x 43¼in. (60 x 110cm.)
Executed in 2008, this work is number one from an edition of five plus two artist's proofs

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Bibi Naz Zavieh
Bibi Naz Zavieh

Lot Essay

'When Cécile was born in 2004, it was only a question of time until we had difficulties communicating. She speaks Swiss German; I speak Arabic, and neither of us understands what the other is talking about. She is simply foreign to me. This work attempts to establish a relationship between us by photographing her clothes from both sides-inside and outside. One side connotes her world and the other connotes mine. A cloth, no matter what, will always have its other side. This mirrors the basic fact that in essence, Cécile and I will always have a connection. The book gives chance to notice and sense similarities, differences, and contrasts among many other nuances. Since we moved to live in London from Jerusalem my daughter feels out of place. For the first time, Cécile and I have started to communicate using our own language-the language of exile.'
(Steve Sabella, 2008).

'A tender and apologetic declaration of love from the artist to his young daughter, portrays pairs of square-cuts from the child's colorful clothes. Conceived as an artist's book, these images deal with duality, but they also mirror the essential connection between a father and a daughter, two exiles born in Jerusalem, two tailored from the same cloth.'
(Christa Paula)

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