Esther Aldaz:
INHABITING A WORD

Esther Aldaz is a Spanish artist who lives and works in the Canary Islands, after having previously been based in Madrid and London. She has exhibited her work in Spain and internationally since 2005 with her latest show last July at the Villa Ada Saboya in Rome. She is exhibiting in Cairo for the second time. She is interested in issues related to space but not necessarily expressed in a three-dimensional way, and in exploring special spaces: spaces in-between, impossible or utopian places.

The project Habitar una palabra (Inhabiting a Word) dealt with language as a place to be inhabited. It was a series of six site-specific live installations that reflected a game played with words: she was given three words in Arabic, a language she cannot speak, and based only on their sound and the look of a written word, created three installations. She was then told the meaning, and created three more installations relating to corresponding Spanish words. It was a reflection on the relation of visual language to spoken and written language, attempting to reach the inner meaning by bringing face–to–face the visual contents of Arabic and Spanish words. The project was displayed in two parts, one could be seen in the Instituto Cervantes Cairo from 30 November, the other one at the maq‘ad of Sultan Qaitbey from 18 December 2016.

The residency of Esther Aldaz in Cairo was supported by the Spanish Embassy in Cairo, the Atlantic Center of Modern Art, and the Cervantes Institute

“Shagara”: live installation. Newspapers, stones, light, projection.
Photograph: Roger Anis. Image courtesy of the artist.

“Nogum”: live installation. Cotton on iron support, chair, cymbals, sound.
Photograph: Roger Anis. Image courtesy of the artist.

“Estrellas”: live installation. Nails, wood, colour thread, mat, pillow, mirror.
Photograph: Roger Anis. Image courtesy of the artist.

Image courtesy of the artist. Photograph: Roger Anis