Please Patterns, 2022, wall drawing, colored pencil and pencil on wall, in KW Berlin, photo: DE JONG
Please provide a short written description of the image(s) you have submitted.
It can be like some random words or note, poem, diary etc.
I have selected photos that illustrate different approaches to the body in
drawing, which vary depending on the medium and scale. I also wanted to
show how the act of drawing can lead to various art forms, ranging from
writing to performance, architecture, and music…
My drawings on paper, as in my sketchbooks, my wall drawings, and also my
musical compositions, all explore this repetitive act that leads to
polyrhythmic forms as complex as they are minimalist.
But while drawing on paper remains an intimate act, the transition to the
wall is a revelation of the intimate to the public. The transcendence of
abstraction through the representation of the body in public space marks
the beginning of the “performance” form. The transcendence of the self and
the transcendence of the smallness of the sign—which, once repeated,
becomes monumental—implies a dissolution of the sign by and within
itself. The same is true for the body, which, in the repetitive act, forgets itself
while hammering home that it exists. The mural emphasizes that the body is
“nothing” and yet an immense and complex whole. It is both the
affirmation of the body and its a1irmation. The mural is also a kind of
posture—both humble and ambitious—that reflects my dedication to my
work as an artist.
How does drawing operate on a sensory level in your work?
Finally, the transformation of the self—of one’s own body—also influences
the transformation of the surface: the wall eventually ceases to be
perceived as a finite, flat, closed, and rigid surface, becoming instead a
phantom-like medium—absent yet present, floating, supple, and above all,
open. The wall drawing breaks down walls and simply opens windows. It is
a drawing that creates transparency, infinity, the horizon, fragility, and
delicacy as well. Thus, the physical dimension of the mural creates an
analogy between body and surface, both of which eventually soften and
become more supple. In this sense, it is a sensual and erotic act.
What leads your responsive drawing process as you mark?
It’s all about listening! Listening to your body and to that mysterious connection between the mind and the hand. The eye also comes into play at the beginning and as the drawing takes shape. This multisensory listening guides the process. The goal is the realization of form—that is, the realization of a thought-object or an object-thought that tells a story.
Curiously, the most abstract forms carry within them a narrative, a story. Even if the narrative is nothing more than a trace of a gesture, of a body movement which can be more or less free, more or less structured. And it is precisely this balance between freedom and structure that leads to form. Form is the result of a paradox.
Silence, 2022, ink on paper, 24×17
Pulsation, 2017, ink and pencil on paper, 19x25cm
How does your mindset change after experiencing the work process?
Repetition plays a central role in my research. The repeated action or the repeated sign has emerged for me as a language. Repetition, which remains a utopia when produced by the body, is an amazing agent of transformation. But it requires patience, surrender, perseverance, and commitment. It is a slow, lengthy process that can only reveal its transformative power over time. Then the transformation becomes faster, more evident, thanks to the experience of duration. This leads to a very subtle awareness of time and an acceptance of reality.
What role can drawing have in helping you probe, mitigate, and possibly transcend current global crises?
Peace, slowliness, silence, concentration, patience, humility, wisdom, spirituality, practice, creation, transformation, hand and body resistance against the invasive part of the omnipresence of AI in our lifes. The hand is a suprising machine.
and environmental concerns?
The murals are in a way degradable and recyclable. They are like a dance or a flame. They don’t last. They are intentionnally destroyed after a show or they disppear due to external natural factors (wind, rain,…). The live experience, such as performance, theater, concerts are still needed as human meeting points. They build necessary connections. And they feed imagination which is for me the most resistant part of humanity. We as a human being can disappear, but the stories survive even through silence. Dont’t we say in french « Les murs ont des oreilles » ? (The walls have ears)
Schrift, 2025, acrylic pen on wall, variable dimensions, Galerie Etage, BERLIN, photo: Joe Clark
Myriam El Haïk (1973, Rabat)
is a Moroccan-french artist, composer, and performer. She lives and works in Berlin and Rabat. Her artistic language is based on the repetition and combination of simple signs, patterns and actions. At the core of her practice lies the connection between music and visual art. Drawing on her own minimalist, repetitive compositions, Myriam El Haïk develops systems that translate musical structures into visual forms : drawings, installations, videos and performances.
Her highly rhythmical works both versatile and complex play a subversive and neverending game with the notions of time, space, language and body.
Please provide a short written description of the image(s) you have submitted.
It can be like some random words or note, poem, diary etc.
I have selected photos that illustrate different approaches to the body in
drawing, which vary depending on the medium and scale. I also wanted to
show how the act of drawing can lead to various art forms, ranging from
writing to performance, architecture, and music…
My drawings on paper, as in my sketchbooks, my wall drawings, and also my
musical compositions, all explore this repetitive act that leads to
polyrhythmic forms as complex as they are minimalist.
But while drawing on paper remains an intimate act, the transition to the
wall is a revelation of the intimate to the public. The transcendence of
abstraction through the representation of the body in public space marks
the beginning of the “performance” form. The transcendence of the self and
the transcendence of the smallness of the sign—which, once repeated,
becomes monumental—implies a dissolution of the sign by and within
itself. The same is true for the body, which, in the repetitive act, forgets itself
while hammering home that it exists. The mural emphasizes that the body is
“nothing” and yet an immense and complex whole. It is both the
affirmation of the body and its a1irmation. The mural is also a kind of
posture—both humble and ambitious—that reflects my dedication to my
work as an artist.
How does drawing operate on a sensory level in your work?
Finally, the transformation of the self—of one’s own body—also influences
the transformation of the surface: the wall eventually ceases to be
perceived as a finite, flat, closed, and rigid surface, becoming instead a
phantom-like medium—absent yet present, floating, supple, and above all,
open. The wall drawing breaks down walls and simply opens windows. It is
a drawing that creates transparency, infinity, the horizon, fragility, and
delicacy as well. Thus, the physical dimension of the mural creates an
analogy between body and surface, both of which eventually soften and
become more supple. In this sense, it is a sensual and erotic act.
What leads your responsive drawing process as you mark?
It’s all about listening! Listening to your body and to that mysterious connection between the mind and the hand. The eye also comes into play at the beginning and as the drawing takes shape. This multisensory listening guides the process. The goal is the realization of form—that is, the realization of a thought-object or an object-thought that tells a story.
Curiously, the most abstract forms carry within them a narrative, a story. Even if the narrative is nothing more than a trace of a gesture, of a body movement which can be more or less free, more or less structured. And it is precisely this balance between freedom and structure that leads to form. Form is the result of a paradox.
How does your mindset change after experiencing the work process?
Repetition plays a central role in my research. The repeated action or the repeated sign has emerged for me as a language. Repetition, which remains a utopia when produced by the body, is an amazing agent of transformation. But it requires patience, surrender, perseverance, and commitment. It is a slow, lengthy process that can only reveal its transformative power over time. Then the transformation becomes faster, more evident, thanks to the experience of duration. This leads to a very subtle awareness of time and an acceptance of reality.
What role can drawing have in helping you probe, mitigate, and possibly transcend current global crises?
Peace, slowliness, silence, concentration, patience, humility, wisdom, spirituality, practice, creation, transformation, hand and body resistance against the invasive part of the omnipresence of AI in our lifes. The hand is a suprising machine.
and environmental concerns?
The murals are in a way degradable and recyclable. They are like a dance or a flame. They don’t last. They are intentionnally destroyed after a show or they disppear due to external natural factors (wind, rain,…). The live experience, such as performance, theater, concerts are still needed as human meeting points. They build necessary connections. And they feed imagination which is for me the most resistant part of humanity. We as a human being can disappear, but the stories survive even through silence. Dont’t we say in french « Les murs ont des oreilles » ? (The walls have ears)
Myriam El Haïk (1973, Rabat)
is a Moroccan-french artist, composer, and performer. She lives and works in Berlin and Rabat. Her artistic language is based on the repetition and combination of simple signs, patterns and actions. At the core of her practice lies the connection between music and visual art. Drawing on her own minimalist, repetitive compositions, Myriam El Haïk develops systems that translate musical structures into visual forms : drawings, installations, videos and performances.
Her highly rhythmical works both versatile and complex play a subversive and neverending game with the notions of time, space, language and body.
website：www.myriamelhaik.org
Bandcamp：myriamelhaik.bandcamp
Instagram：@myriamelhaik
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