‘I AM NOT THE STONE THROWN INTO THE WATER, BUT THE SEED SOWN IN THE FIELD’ · Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial

Al Qattara Oasis

‘I AM NOT THE STONE THROWN INTO THE WATER, BUT THE SEED SOWN IN THE FIELD’

2026Stainless steel0.96 × 1.93 × 5 metres

M'barek Bouhchichi’s practice explores identity, memory, and overlooked histories through forms that foreground visibility, heritage, and belonging. ‘I AM NOT THE STONE THROWN INTO THE WATER, BUT THE SEED SOWN IN THE FIELD’ (2026) reimagines the pigeon tower, vernacular architecture found from North Africa to the Emirates, as a space of refuge and passage. Borrowing its title from Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North, the work reflects on movement and memory, treating the past as material for imagining the future. A poem from Al Nahma, traditional Emirati sea shanties, or work songs sung by sailors, unfolds in Braille through holes and wooden logs across the structures, translating maritime oral heritage into a tactile language of memory and movement.

Artist's Biography

M'barek Bouhchichi

Tahannaout, Morocco

M'barek Bouhchichi’s practice explores the body as a site where personal experience, collective memory, and social perception intersect. Working across sculpture, drawing, painting, installation, and video, he examines the visibility and representation of Black identities within Moroccan society. Drawing on local craftsmanship, everyday materials, and oral histories, his works reveal overlooked narratives while reflecting on identity, memory, labour, and cultural heritage. Through recurring gestures, faces, imprints, and fragmented bodies, Bouhchichi creates powerful spaces for remembrance, resilience, and belonging. His work has been presented at major international institutions and biennials, including Sharjah Biennial 16 (2025); the 60th Venice Biennale (2024); the 35th São Paulo Biennial (2023); Dak’Art: Biennale of Contemporary African Art (2018); Mucem, Marseille; and SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin. His work is held in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Sharjah Art Foundation, Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and MACAAL.

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