Cosmic Archaeology – Alia Farid

At the time of the Ebb

The exhibition features a video art piece created by Alia Farid as a commission for the Sharjah biennial. To capture the piece, the artist travelled hundreds of kilometres from the tip of the Arabian peninsula all the way to the Iranian Island of Qeshm during the celebration of Nowruz Sayadeen, the “Fisherman’s new year”.

On this day all fishing activities —a symbol of the village’s livelihood— stop as a tribute to nature. Alia Farid’s essay film journeys through the traditions of celebration on an island where life flows according to its own unique rhythm, based on the eternal turning of the seasons. During the celebrations certain characters stand out from the crowd, such as the camel, the horse, the bird, and the pastor’s son. The choirs of people participating to the rite constitute the rhythmical base of the narration that moves from a domestic scene to a desert landscape where prop-like-animals are dancing together with the humans.  

At the Time of the Ebb, as most of Farid’s artistic researches, depicts the life and culture of the local people through various micro-narratives. Farid picks imaginative vistas from the moments she captures, and through them creates a scenario steeped in myth and magical naturalism. the piece acts as a reminder of the complexities of modern life while offering a surprising viewpoint to the life of a people living in a politically charged border zone. Farid’s work acts as commentary to questions on national and ideological borders.  

The artist

Alia Farid (b.1985) lives and works in Kuwait and Puerto Rico. Her work gives visibility to narratives that are obscured by hegemonic power Farid utilises a multidisciplinary practice that ranges from writing and drawing to film, sculpture, and installation. She has forthcoming solo exhibitions at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAMSTL) in 2022 and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto in 2023. 

Photo: Jonni Saloluoma, Museum Centre of Turku.