Samta Benyahia Le Polygone et Le Dédale (review)

SAMTA BENYAHIA LE POLYGONE ET LE DEDALE Multiple Venues Since 2003 "Le Polygone et Le Dedal e" (detail), Dreams and Conflict s, 2003, Glass, enamel, met al, w ood, 220 x 245 cm. 50t h Venice Biennale. Court esy t he artist and Mart ine et Thibault de la Chat re gallery. Samt a Benyahia original l y based her desi gn for Le Polygon et Le Dedale— literally , "The Pol ygon and t he Labyr i n t h "—o n t he Fat ima roset t e, an i nt ense t ur quoi se-bl ue mot if com m only f ound in Andal usi an-Ar abi c pot t ery and archit ect ure. More t han a mere or nament or st yl i st i c device, t hi s roset t e, pared down and purif ied, i s a common f eat ure of her work: set on t he gr ound or ador ni ng st ai ned-gl ass screens or t he Mouchar abieh part it ions t hat bot h divide and i nt er connect spaces, al l owing t he viewer t o see wi t hout being seen and symbol i zi ng t he opposi t i on bet ween t he i nt er nal and t he ext ernal, t he f emi ni ne and t he masculine, f ul l ness and voi d. Seen f rom above, t he out er walls of Le Polygon et Le Dedale f orm t he shape of an ei ght -poi nt ed st ar —t h e st ar being a mult icult ural symbol of cosmic order and uni ver sal harmony, and t he f igure ei ght cor r espondi ng t o t he ei ght cardinal poi nt s, t he ei ght spokes of t he Wheel of Fort une or t o t he New Test ament 's ei ght h day, t he day of rebirt h and renewal. Via an openi ng in t he ei ght h poi nt of t he st ar, t he visit or ent ers a space t hat expresses spi r i t ual it y wit h great er f orce and convi ct i on t han al most any of t he art ist 's ot her recent ly exhi bi t ed pieces. Just large enough for t hree or f our people at a t ime (2. 20 m in hei ght by 2. 45 in widt h) it is like a chamber of wonders, wit h t he f eel of a place of prayer, a place conducive t o medi t at i on. Insi de, across each of t he st ar's inner angl es st ands a st ai ned-gl ass window, an openi ng t o anot her worl d. Each window consi st s of t hree super i mposed layers of gl ass adorned wit h one of t hree original l y sil k-screened Fat ima roset t e pat t erns, each f eat uring a dif f erent -sized blue or green roset t e. The f irst layer's kil n-f ormed, undul at i ng surf ace creat es t he i l l usi on t hat t he mot if s are movi ng wi t hi n t he dept h of a t ransparent space of cont rast . In harmony wit h a deep blue roset t e set on t he f loor at t he cent er of t he space, t hese w i ndow s produce an ast oni shi ng, rare int erpl ay of col ors and l ight t hat conj ures up a t ouch of magic. Le Polygon et Le Dedale, in it s scale and w ooden st r uct ur i ng, resembl es t he remarkably int ricat e and accompl i shed model s of t he Renai ssance mast er archit ect s. One...