Zohair Zouirech. Peter Behrens School of Arts. New Talents Award Nominee 2022
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NewTalentsByKlimt02
Published: 23.12.2022
- Edited by:
- Klimt02
- Edited at:
- Barcelona
- Edited on:
- 2022

The 8th edition of the New Talents Award by Klimt02 aims to recognize the work of graduate students in our field by supporting their careers in the professional world. Nominated by our school members, one of the selected graduates will win the New Talents Award.
Where there is light, there is also shadow. This work opened the circle for me and invites others into a space of encounter to recalibrate views and values. A sensual and flexible space is created in which one can simply be, open up, dare, and look at each other in the eyes, a space of active dialogue and exchange. The potential for development lies in the people themselves.
Name of graduation student: Zohair Zouirech
Name of guiding teacher: Uli Budde
Nominated by University of Applied Sciences, Peter Behrens School of Arts, New Craft Object Design Düsseldorf
In his work, Zohair Zouirech deals with the topic of cultural heritage and its translation into contemporary design.
Zohair’s intensive research in Islamic art and its connections to Modernism leads him to an expressive yet unobtrusive idea of how to approach the different cultural influences and us - humans.
Current issues are touched on and translated into material, by the use of both analogue and digital tools. The unusual and also efficient use of material - in this case, paper - while creating and defining space, makes this work exceptional and refined. Its materiality brings up questions regarding efficient and well-thought use of resources, the use of space in general, and our own perception of value(s).
/Uli Budde
The statement of the artist:
The struggle in favour of or against ornament was one of the most bitter in the history of Modernity. My work is concerned with ornament, its meaning, and its influence on culture, identity, and society in space. Humankind is a social being who has always richly decorated his environment and objects with complex ornaments. From Asian motifs 'to the geometric patterns of Islam to the detailed furniture of the Princes (...) of the Baroque (...), they are all based on the same foundation: they represented the authority of the ruler and the dominance of one's own culture.' - Kenya Hara, the book White.
In the development process of this work, I dealt with the ornamentations of both Islamic art and the beginning of the 20th century. In the latter case, I have also investigated its effect on the design in the European region, motivations and consequences. Throughout this process, I reflected on the dialogue of my own experiences from my first home Fés (Morocco, North Africa), and my studies & life in my second home Düsseldorf (Germany).
The first sentence of the manifesto of the Bauhaus School contains for me the quintessence of hope:
"das endziel der bildnerischen tätigkeit ist der bau! ihn zu schmücken war einst die vornehmste aufgabe der bildenden künste, sie waren unablösliche bestandteile der großen baukunst."
During the development of this work, I started first with a pencil and compass to make the first drawings; triangles, squares, straight lines, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circles - all elements of geometry. From these elements, I derived the pattern of my work. Then I transferred this analogue process into a digital process and ultimately into an ornament. And again, I went back to paper, an inconspicuous one with inherent high quality, moving from two-dimension into a three-dimension by folding.
In the following step, I discovered a star-shaped form where I found a connection to the ornaments of my country of origin. I cut the stars using a scalpel and later a CNC machine and hold the paper against the light. Where there is light, there is also shadow. This work opened the circle for me and invites others into a space of encounter to recalibrate views and values. A sensual and flexible space is created in which one can simply be, open up, dare, and look at each other in the eyes, a space of active dialogue and exchange. The potential for development lies in the people themselves.
Contact:
Mail: kontakt@zohair.de
Website: www.zohair.de
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zohair_zoui/
Find out more about University of Applied Sciences, Peter Behrens School of Arts, New Craft Object Design Düsseldorf
Name of guiding teacher: Uli Budde
Nominated by University of Applied Sciences, Peter Behrens School of Arts, New Craft Object Design Düsseldorf
In his work, Zohair Zouirech deals with the topic of cultural heritage and its translation into contemporary design.
Zohair’s intensive research in Islamic art and its connections to Modernism leads him to an expressive yet unobtrusive idea of how to approach the different cultural influences and us - humans.
Current issues are touched on and translated into material, by the use of both analogue and digital tools. The unusual and also efficient use of material - in this case, paper - while creating and defining space, makes this work exceptional and refined. Its materiality brings up questions regarding efficient and well-thought use of resources, the use of space in general, and our own perception of value(s).
/Uli Budde
The statement of the artist:
The struggle in favour of or against ornament was one of the most bitter in the history of Modernity. My work is concerned with ornament, its meaning, and its influence on culture, identity, and society in space. Humankind is a social being who has always richly decorated his environment and objects with complex ornaments. From Asian motifs 'to the geometric patterns of Islam to the detailed furniture of the Princes (...) of the Baroque (...), they are all based on the same foundation: they represented the authority of the ruler and the dominance of one's own culture.' - Kenya Hara, the book White.
In the development process of this work, I dealt with the ornamentations of both Islamic art and the beginning of the 20th century. In the latter case, I have also investigated its effect on the design in the European region, motivations and consequences. Throughout this process, I reflected on the dialogue of my own experiences from my first home Fés (Morocco, North Africa), and my studies & life in my second home Düsseldorf (Germany).
The first sentence of the manifesto of the Bauhaus School contains for me the quintessence of hope:
"das endziel der bildnerischen tätigkeit ist der bau! ihn zu schmücken war einst die vornehmste aufgabe der bildenden künste, sie waren unablösliche bestandteile der großen baukunst."
During the development of this work, I started first with a pencil and compass to make the first drawings; triangles, squares, straight lines, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circles - all elements of geometry. From these elements, I derived the pattern of my work. Then I transferred this analogue process into a digital process and ultimately into an ornament. And again, I went back to paper, an inconspicuous one with inherent high quality, moving from two-dimension into a three-dimension by folding.
In the following step, I discovered a star-shaped form where I found a connection to the ornaments of my country of origin. I cut the stars using a scalpel and later a CNC machine and hold the paper against the light. Where there is light, there is also shadow. This work opened the circle for me and invites others into a space of encounter to recalibrate views and values. A sensual and flexible space is created in which one can simply be, open up, dare, and look at each other in the eyes, a space of active dialogue and exchange. The potential for development lies in the people themselves.
Contact:
Mail: kontakt@zohair.de
Website: www.zohair.de
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zohair_zoui/
Find out more about University of Applied Sciences, Peter Behrens School of Arts, New Craft Object Design Düsseldorf
Object: Ornament Between Hope and Crime, 2022
Paper.
300 x 500 cm
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Object: Ornament Between Hope and Crime, 2022
Paper.
300 x 500 cm
Focus view.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Object: Ornament Between Hope and Crime, 2022
Paper.
300 x 500 cm
Focus view.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Object: Ornament Between Hope and Crime, 2022
Paper.
300 x 500 cm
Inside view.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Object: Ornament Between Hope and Crime, 2022
Paper.
300 x 500 cm
Detail
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
- Edited by:
- Klimt02
- Edited at:
- Barcelona
- Edited on:
- 2022
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