About the artist's work:

From a text by Annette Lagler

Hassan Sharif's work is characterized by constant repetition of one activity - e.g. folding small pieces of paper and wrapping or tying them with colored cotton stripes. This process is repeated countless times until a heap of finished packages has piled up in front of him.

It is not the final sculpture that is decisive but the activity that seems to be characterized by the monotony of action - an automatical, intuitive movement of the fingers that does not require a special physical or mental effort. It is a manual skill that reminds of kneading bread or playing an instrument with only a few strings, but also of rituals like the Greek rosary-like konsoloi or the Chinese qui gong because the uniformous movement appeals to deeper layers of consciousness that integrate our physical rhythm of breath and pulse into an eternal continuum that lies beyond our conscious thinking.

Annette Lagler about Hassan Sharif, in:

5/U.A.E., Contemporary Art of the "Five" from the United Arab Emirates.
Exhibition at the Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen/Germany. 6 September - 17 November 2002. Website of the exhibition.