Nadia Kaabi transforms forensic investigation into art on Al Arabiya’s ‘Nawafeth’

Al Arabiya News Channel launched its fifth episode of ‘Nawafeth’ (Arabic for ‘Windows’) series on Tuesday which features fine artists from the Arab World. The series is to release 100 episodes that will showcase profiles of the artists working in different art forms.

Nadia Kaabi-Linke is not your usual mainstream artist. Nadia’s work is based on politics and her open views of the world. Nadia was born in 1978 in Tunis to a Ukrainian mother and Tunisian father. Through the outcome of political unrest she has created some aesthetically pleasing works of art.

Tunisian artist Nadia Kaabi

Her most famous piece of work entitled “flying carpets” placed her as one of the five winners of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2011 in Dubai.

“Flying Carpets is about creating a tribute to the illegal immigrant street vendors whom you see in Venice, and generally in the south of Europe,” she said in an interview with Ben Davis from Blouin Artinfo magazine.

She also explained in the interview how she created her work of art. “What I did is actually just take the outlines of their carpets on this bridge, and map how these shapes overlaid one another during one week.”

The first part of the project was staged in Venice, and then in Berlin, and finally she produced the project in Sharjah for unveiling at the Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2011 in Dubai.

Some of the artists whom she praises for their work include Mona Hatoum. Kaabi-Linke said: “She also is working with political background, and I like the intelligence in her work.” One of those also praised by Kaabi-Linke was Giuseppe Penone who is not political but engages the idea of time and archeology in his work.

Another prominent work of Kaabi-Linke is entitled “black is white” which features an Arab male wearing a black kandoura and ghutra, under the imaginary brand “Joseph Van Helt.” The message of the picture is that if women accept to wear black in the hot sun, why could not men do the same?

Nadia Kaabi-Linke works hard to try and gain perspective of what a life of hardship is like in order to convey it in her art. She spent eight days in Venice living with the illegal immigrant street vendors in Venice.

To read more and view Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s art please follow the link:
http://enawafeth.alarabiya.net/content/space-sculpturing-imprints-unidentified-people