Artists Statement

Fethi Sahraoui

Scholarship visual arts 1.5. – 31.7.2023

What made you apply for the otte1 scholarship?
I had direct contact with Norbert Weber, who approached me after a stay in Algeria to organize an exhibition with me at Galerie Nemo. The application period for otte1 coincided with this and Norbert Weber made me aware of the possibility of the scholarship. So I applied for it. Then Corona came and I was happy that Norbert Weber approached me again afterward and invited me to Eckernförde for the scholarship.

What did you work on during your stay?
To be honest I didn’t come to Eckernförde with the intention of producing a photographic work because I simply believe that it takes time to do something meaningful. Even though I made a photo series with a local fisherman on his boat and documented him and his work, I see such initiates as starting point to get to know people and initiate a sort of a dialogue with them through this medium which is photography. I worked on coordinating my next projects in France, Spain (Girona) and the US during this time. I also continued to develop my network in Europe and visited different places that are relevant to my work and inspire me such as the Gut Ludwigsburg and the Emil Nolde Museum.

What inspired you at the Künstlerhaus in Eckernförde?
My notion about home kept evolving in the last couple of years and Eckernförde as a town confirmed for me the theory of home as a vague concept. I keep realizing that home can be everywhere and anywhere, and this quote from Naguib Mahfouz will stay with me forever: “Home is not where you are born; home is where all your attempts, to escape cease”. On another point the 3 months at the Künstlerhaus in Eckernförde gave me a home that allowed me to focus on my inner self and have a much needed period of introspection. I have been trying to learn more about the region and the country through every person that I have met, developed new ideas and also questioned my way of working, and refocused my goals.

What do you take away from Eckernförde for your further artistic development?
I work both in a collective and alone. I believe the biggest outtake from my residency in The Künstlerhaus as an institution but also as a place has formed in me to the idea of founding and building an artists’ house/residency near my small hometown in a rural region of Western Algeria, something that it’s been a while since I have been considering it, my stay there makes it look more palpable.

What would you like to add?
My stay at the Künstlerhaus in Eckernförde gave me a home for a short but important time. Besides photography, I had time here to rediscover cooking for myself. I rarely get to do that on my travels otherwise.