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Sara Sadik, presented by BMW
New Talk Art! We meet artist Sara Sadik, presented by BMW.
Sara Sadik (b. 1994, FR) is inspired by what she terms “beurcore”: the youth culture developed by working-class members of the Maghrebi diaspora. Her work brings together video, performance, installation and photography in order to explore beurcore’s manifestations, while her references span music, language, fashion, social networks and science fiction. These narratives, which the artist regularly features in, often document and analyse beurcore’s social and aesthetic symbols. Starting from a semiological and sociological analysis of the “beurness”, Sadik goes on to hijack these social clichés by deconstructing and reintegrating them into fictions.
For the seventh consecutive year, Frieze and BMW continue their long-term partnership with the art initiative BMW Open Work. French artist Sara Sadik worked closely with BMW to present “LA POTION (EH)” - a video and gaming experience, using BMW’s My Modes and the new AirConsole technology of the BMW i5 as a playing device. Both works premiered in October at KOKO inside the BMW Open Work Lounge during Frieze London. In celebration of their collaboration, Frieze and BMW also invited London-based musician Loyle Carner as this year's Frieze Music performer. We loved seeing his concert!
BMW Open Work is a joint initiative between Frieze and BMW, bringing together art, innovation, technology and design in a pioneering multi-platform format. Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, BMW Open Work invites an artist to develop an ambitious project utilising BMW technology and design to pursue their practice in new directions. This year, the invited artist is Marseille-based Sara Sadik, whose practice lies halfway between fiction and documentary. Her work, be it video or performance, is inspired by video games, anime, science-fiction as well as French rap, and puts forward characters facing challenges and striving to achieve moral and physical transformation through initiatory stories.
Conceived as part of BMW Open Work 2023, “LA POTION (EH)” continues the artist’s interest in the possibilities of computer-generated scenarios and her investigation into the changing emotional states of young male characters. The project unfolds as an interactive video game, devised to be played exclusively in the new, fully electric BMW i5 as well as a video installation presented both on the public-facing terrace of KOKO and inside the BMW Lounge. Guided by the Avatar Neregy, a virtually alienated character who struggles to connect with people, the viewer follows him across different worlds, tasks, and challenges to complete his quest for psychological healing and transformation.
Learn more at https://frieze.com/bmw-open-work
Follow @SaraSadik and @BMWGroupCulture on Instagram.
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