Yazid Oulab

Oulab’s works are inspired by Sufi poetry, memories of his arrival in France, and materials related to the proletarian world. He references the hand gestures of whirling dervishes in his sculptural installation Main (Hand), with the right hand elevated towards the heavens to gather the grace of Allah and the left steered towards the earth to spread it. Oulab’s use of barbed wire refers to the manual labor on building sites, often carried out by immigrants, as he himself did after his arrival to France. Due to their physicality, the simple forms communicate a power and nobility of their own.

Yazid Oulab was born in Sedrata, Algeria, in 1958. He lives and works in Marseille. He studied at the École supérieure des beaux- arts in Marseille. He has exhibited internationally at major institutions including the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Grand Palais (Paris), Musée les Abattoirs (Toulouse), and the National Museum of Contemporary Art (Bucharest).