installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

Linnea, 2018
marigold, carob and embroidery on linen,
140 × 190 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Linnea”. The textiles are french and belgian linen from the 18th and 19th century. The yellow colour is made with pigments of marigold flowers that Farah has planted outside her parents house in Stockholm Archipelago, whereas the used black pigments are made of carob that she has collected during her travels through Essaouira in Morocco. Each textile patch has been treated individually with the mixture of pigments and sewed together afterwards to the final “painting”. The abstract composition plays with the idea of light shifts as they are characteristic for classical seascape paintings.

Untitled (Beachy Head), 2019
clay, chalk, rust and indigo on linen, silk and hemp,
60 × 50 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Untitled (Beachy Head)”. The textile is a mixture of linen and silk from the 18th century. The blue colour is made of self planted indigo in southeastern England and has been combined with white chalk and clay from cliffs at Beachy Head and rust from stranded objects there. The abstract composition plays with the idea of break of dawn.

side view: Untitled (Beachy Head), 2019
clay, chalk, rust and indigo on linen, silk and hemp,
60 × 50 cm

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

Wave - Saline, 2018
terracotta and sea salt on linen, embroidery,
200 × 150 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Wave-Saline”. The textile is linen from the 18th and 19th century. On some parts the original embroidered initials from the previous owners are visible. The beige-rose colour comes from several dippings in a mixture of Boujdour Terracotta that Farah has collected in Somaliand close to the Sahara and salt from the Assal Lake in Djibouti, Africa. Each patch has been dipped individually. The “Mountainous Landscape” comes from Farahs complex dipping technique which is based on the fact that the salt was suppressing the terracotta to the ground of the dipping vessel. The subtle yellow lines derive from the evaporation of the water during the drying process.

Sky - Saline, 2019
indigo and sea salt on linen,
60 × 50 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Sky - Saline”. The textile is linen from the 18th century. The shifts of blue colour come from a combination of indigo pigments that Farah has planted in southeastern England and salt that she has collected from the Assal Lake in Djibouti, Africa.

Sky - Saline (side view), 2019
indigo and sea salt on linen,
60 × 50 cm

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

Desré, 2019
indigo carob and embroidery on linen and hemp,
240 × 140 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Desré”. Textiles from linen and hemp from the 18th and 19th century are combined. The brown colour is made of pigments of carob that Farah has collected during her travels in Essaouira in Marocco whereas the blue colour is made from indigo pigments that she has planted in southeastern England. The strict repetitive pattern combines the concepts of two different cultural spheres: the modern ideas of Bauhaus and the mathematical basis for Islamic architecture.

Ray - First light, 2019
marigold carob and embroidery on linen,
60 × 50 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Ray-First Light”. The textiles are french and belgian linen from the 18th and 19th century, on some parts the initials from the previous owner are visible. The yellow colour is made with pigments of marigold flowers that Farah has planted outside her parents house in Stockholm Archipelago, whereas the used black pigments are made of carob that she has collected during her travels through Essaouira in Marocco. Each textile patch has been treated individually with the mixture of pigments and sewed together afterwards to the final “painting”. The abstract composition plays with the idea of light shifts as they are characteristic for classical seascape paintings.

side view: Ray - First light, 2019
marigold carob and embroidery on linen,
60 × 50 cm

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

Between two lands, 2019
2 parts, clay, carob, rust, chalk, marigold leaves, indigo and embroidery on linen and hemp,
each 170 × 140 cm, overall dimensions 170 × 280 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Between Two Lands”. The textile patches coming from the 18th and 19th century have been collected over a five year period. It's one of the most complex works by Ayan Farah. The colour spectrum from greyish over blue to brown comes from a mixture of clay and white chalk from the East Sussex Coast, marigold grown in Southeastern England and indigo grown in Stockholm Archipelago close to Farah's parents home.

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

installation view
„Ayan Farah. Between two lands“,
Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019

The shape of a partially eclipsed moon. The gaps between of a plane tree, 2019
indigo photographic emulsion, sea salt and vinegar on linen,
180 × 130 cm

This work is like a diary and combines several places and lands. The „painting“ consists of 84 textile elements and form an index of the weather over 84 days. The textile elements treated with self planted indigo, salt from Assaline Lake in Djibouti and photographic emulsion were exposed to a 24-hour photographic process in a camera obscura constructed by Ayan Farah in Southeastern England. Each textile patches had the exact size of the camera obscura; high solar radiation made the individual elements darker, or if the weather has been cloudy the patch remained light. One patch „contains“ a moon eclipse which happened during the 84 days.

Element, 2019
rust, carob and Indian ink on linen,
200 × 150 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Element”. The textile from the 18th century is handwoven in France and belongs to the oldest fabrics Ayan Farah has ever used. For the colour Farah has combined rust that she gained by collecting metal objects around her house and the beach in Southeastern England, carob from Essouria in Marocco and indian ink. The individual textile patches have been dyed in several working processes.

Ayan, 2019
Indigo and sea salt on linen,
60 × 50 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Ayan”. The textile is linen from the 18th century. The shifts of blue colour come from a combination of indigo pigments that Farah has planted in southeastern England and salt that she has collected from the Assal Lake in Djibouti, Africa.

side view: Ayan, 2019
Indigo and sea salt on linen,
60 × 50 cm

Fabaceae, 2018
Carob, rust and indigo on linen,
170 × 120 cm

Several lands and time periods get combined in “Fabaceae”. The textile patches coming from the 18th and 19th century have been collected over a five year period. The colour spectrum fom grey to blue comes from a combination of rust that Farah gained by collecting metal objects around her house and the beach in Southeastern England and carob from Essouria in Morocco. Afterwards some parts have been left to fade in the sun before they were dipped in indigo that has been grown in Stockholm Archipelago.