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Artist and designer Sami Hayek on finding the life inside objects

The multidisciplinary artist and designer's evocative creations, currently exhibited at Christie's, speak to the audiences

Sami Hayek is not the one to be wowed by the surface. It’s often what lies underneath that captivates the Mexican multidisciplinary artist and designer. Take, for instance, Frequency, his exhibition of artworks and evocative objects that will be on display at Christie’s Middle East till November 14, that shine a light on a deeper philosophical notion of frequency. “Tell me something, if I give you a work of art and then I give you an exact replica of that artwork, why will you end up choosing the former?” he asks. “The original work has a different vibration and frequency to it; it embodies the creative energies of an artist. Consciously or unconsciously, we know that and that’s why we always prefer to have the original because we want a part of the artist too.”

Frequency premises itself on the idea that all objects — inanimate as they may be — radiate energy. And it is this energy that is passed on. On display at Christie’s are some works that demand a direct engagement from the audiences. Take, for instance, Maya Frequency 2 that is made from iceberg blue marble, ceramic, and glazed volcanic rock. Far from being a passive object, it represents an intangible movement. The larger idea behind all the artworks is simply to articulate how frequency works, how it touches a chord with us. Five-hundred-and-twenty-eight, for example, is considered a frequency that promotes harmony and many of the objects displayed at Christie’s embody it. “Sound really grows through your cells. So it impacts us at a cellular level. We may not pay attention but our body listens to whatever it is that we have to say. So, 528 is a very specific frequency that is in harmony with our cellular memory. That’s why it has been used over the centuries for chantings,” says Sami, who is the brother of Hollywood star Salma Hayek.

Sami did not start off as either an artist or a designer. Looking back, he says he had always been inclined towards engineering and business, but ended up getting into art and architecture as a means to promote this sense of wellbeing. “I had been studying in Florence when I had an almost epiphanic moment. I noticed a congruence in Italian language and the design. The culture responds to the rhythm of that language. It made me think if there was something invisible that unfolds itself into such forms of expression, something that connects different aspects of a culture and makes it unique. It was the frequency.”

Sami, like all artists, looks at the world differently. It’s one thing for an artist to articulate his ideas as works of art but when these are encapsulated in objects that are meant to reach an end consumer, one wonders if the intended audience will understand the same nuances. In that sense, could the role of an artist be at odds with that of a designer? “I think it is easy to strike a balance between being an artist and a designer,” says Sami, who’s based in Los Angeles. “Artists have a peculiar way of downloading information. Think about where your thoughts come from. Why is it that you have a thought that’s different than mine? It has something to do with frequency, what you are tuning in to. So artists tune into something, they enter spaces that we all have been to but process it differently. They give it a different form. As a designer you do the same thing. Even if people don’t want to engage in a conversation with the objects, the piece will still draw you in because it will leave an imprint in their minds. Some people will say, ‘Oh, it is a pretty colour or a pretty shape’. I am fine with it. If someone is able to look at my art and feel something, it is good enough for me. I might be sharing where all this is coming from, but ideally, we don’t need to have a conversation to be able to engage with art.”

A piece that truly stands out in the collection is The Dubai Credenza, an elaborate and intricately designed cabinet whose front is designed to look like wings of a hummingbird. In doing so, Sami is actually equating the spirit of Dubai with that of a hummingbird whose wings move at an extraordinary pace. Punctuated with glass beads that are crafted by artisans in Mexico, it is made with anodised aluminum. Sami is happy with the balance he was able to achieve with this piece. “The region has a very unique way of operating. They think of something and then they achieve it. If you see the legs of this cabinet are robust, which indicates it’s strongly grounded and then these wings represent freedom. That is what Dubai’s essence is.”

The imagery of wings with a firm foot is recurrent in many of the objects. That may also have something to do with the fact that Sami sees objects as inanimate witnesses to time. As we move closer towards a large wing-shaped table he’s designed, he says, “I want many cheerful moments to happen around this table. I have one at home, my kids literally jump on it,” he laughs. “I strongly believe that spaces hold intention. That’s why they are so charming. You cannot really replicate that. I want such objects to be passed down to generations.”

As someone who works on larger-than-life pieces, his biggest challenge remains execution. “The ideas are coming all the time, but it is often difficult to find the right team to work with this level of precision. I have achieved that to an extent now. In some pieces, you will have the beading done from Mexico, wood will be procured from California and then other materials sourced from elsewhere. All this needs a different level of coordination.”

It’s been years since Sami has been pursuing the idea of frequency. But he says his creative process remains same more or less. “I don’t think my creative process has evolved. My larger goal, though, has always remained the same — to download an idea or a message onto an object. What has evolved is knowledge so I can play with more materials. What has evolved are skills to manipulate materials,” he says.

As a region, Sami finds a lot of promise in the UAE for an artist. He says that while the original idea was for Christie’s to do an exhibition here, interactions around his work have left him inspired. “I find it welcoming. I like the diversity of people. It calls for great conversations. And great conversations always lead to great ideas.” We could not agree more!

Sami Hayek will be in conversation with Earl of Snowdon, honorary chairman of Christie's EMEA, tonight at DIFC Arts night tonight

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