Mohammed Issiakhem was one of Algeria’s leading modernists, his work often reflecting the country’s anticolonial movement, personal and collective struggles, Amazigh traditions, and portraits of ordinary people. Femme et Mur (1977-78) depicts an Algerian woman dressed in traditional Amazigh garb, jewellery, and headdress, with downcast eyes and a sombre facial expression. Her hands are clasped together, and she stares into the distance in quiet contemplation. Haunting and almost ghost-like, she embodies an ethos of silent endurance and a spirit of resistance that was demonstrated time and again by Algerian women over the course of the twentieth century. Behind her is a wall with graffiti-like references to the Algerian War of Independence that took place between 1954 and 1962, featuring acronyms such as FLN, referring to Algeria’s National Liberation Front, and OAS, referring to the Organisation Armée Secrète, a French secret paramilitary organisation. Featured on the wall is also an image of hamsa, alternatively known as the hand of Fatima, which is a palm-shaped amulet widely recognised as a symbol of protection.
This is the first time the work of Mohammed Issiakhem is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Suheyla Takesh
