A1, BARDIGLIO MARBLE, 2007

A repurposed Bardiglio Marble grave stone, carved inward in a linear motion. As the name suggests, A1 is the work that Badriah considers as the beginning of her oeuvre. 

This sculpture in stone has had several previous lives. It has been a gravestone and after that it has been used in the construction of an Italian house, the marks of which are left visible on the backside of the sculpture. When Badriah found it, it was purposelessly laying around in a garden, completely covered in moss. The act of carving is a linear motion going inward. Taking away matter until the essence is reached, much like the finding and refining of an idea. By digging into the fabric of this former gravestone, Badriah made the natural veins appear like a vortex, reminiscent of swirling galaxies and other natural forces of creation and destruction. The rudimentary step of digging a hole and  exposing the inner life of the stone, was an important act for the young artist, leading her towards an intuitive approach to art. As much as it is about giving shape, this sculpture is about the inherent life force that lies dormant within everything. The force that gives birth to an idea; breathing life into an inanimate object.  Suspending the sculpture in mid-air emphasizes the mass of the galaxy that emerges out of the marble veins. Science, art and philosophy; all sides of the same (multidimensional) coin, looking both out and in at the same time – while dangling in the void.

Title: [A1], Material: Bardiglio Marble, Size: 68cm x 33cm x 23,5cm, 2007/2011