AZZA EL SIDDIQUE: Echoes to Omega
August 9, 2024 – September 14, 2025
Mattress Factory
500 Sampsonia: Lower Level
509 Jacksonia St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Mattress Factory is proud to announce the opening of Echoes to Omega, a new exhibition by Azza El Siddique, a Sudanese-born artist living in New Haven, CT. Deeply informed by her multicultural upbringing, her work delves into themes of migration, mythology, and mortality. Azza El Siddique’s inspiration for this exhibition was spurred when she came across the story of an archeological anomaly. In 1913, a team of archaeologists unearthed an extraordinary figure from the sands of present-day Sudan.
Azza El Siddique
Mattress Factory
They found the statue of Lady Sennuwy, an Egyptian noblewoman, which was carved nearly 4,000 years ago from hard, gray granodiorite. The sculpture had emerged from the ancient city of Kerma, one of Nubia’s largest archaeological sites. This 14-foot tall, 2,300-pound statue was originally carved in Egypt, likely residing in a tomb chapel, and had remarkably been transported over 1,000 kilometers south almost 300 years after its creation.
Credit Tom Little
El Siddique’s installation finds its inspiration in this historical migration. Reflecting on her own journey as an immigrant and the experiences of other immigrant women, she became fascinated by Lady Sennuwy’s mysterious relocation. Discovering that the statue had been digitally scanned and its 3D file available as open source, El Siddique meticulously recreated it using robotic milling techniques.
Credit Mattress Factory
In collaboration with Manchester Craftsman’s Guild, El Siddique created ceramic reproductions, which are placed throughout the installation amidst an imposing steel structure. The inclusion of water, scent, and video elements further enhances the experience, creating a contemplative space where the visible and invisible, the enduring and the ephemeral, coexist. Through this installation, El Siddique invites us to explore the complexities of displacement, memory, and the passage of time.
Credit Bradley Ertaskiran
AZZA EL SIDDIQUE: Echoes to Omega opens on the 9th of August, 2024 until the 14th of September, 2025 at Mattress Factory
©2024 Mattress Factory
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