Sara Sadik Makes Emotions Visible in 2023 BMW Open Work at Frieze London
LA POTION (EH) investigates the changing emotional states of young male characters who struggle to freely express their feelings through a new video and playable game conceived for the BMW i5
LA POTION (EH) investigates the changing emotional states of young male characters who struggle to freely express their feelings through a new video and playable game conceived for the BMW i5
Today Frieze and BMW revealed details of BMW Open Work 2023, the annual joint initiative curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini bringing together art, technology and design in a pioneering multi-platform format. This year, Marseille-based artist Sara Sadik will debut a film installation and video game conceived for the new BMW i5 at KOKO in Camden Town, London.
Both works will premiere during Frieze London, which runs October 11-15, 2023. This year, the fair celebrates its 20th anniversary and most international edition to date with an extensive programme of special projects, collaborations and events, including the BMW Open Work.
Sadik’s video and performance practice lies halfway between fiction and documentary. Drawing on video games, anime, science fiction and French rap, the artist creates initiatory stories that centre characters striving to achieve moral and physical transformation. Her commission at Frieze London comprises an interactive playable game, conceived specifically for the new, fully electric BMW i5 in collaboration with BMW Gaming and Innovation Lab experts, as well as a video installation presented both on the exterior of KOKO and in the BMW Lounge. BMW i5 designers will support Sadik in the technical conception of the game and extending the gaming experience in the car through sound and light.
Titled LA POTION (EH), Sadik’s commission utilises computer-generated scenarios to investigate the changing emotional states of young male characters. Her world- building renders their emotions visible while investigating the construction and performance of masculinity, its ethical and moral codes, and what it reveals about societal structures more broadly.
Courtesy of the artist
Attilia Fattori Franchini (Curator, BMW Open Work) said: ‘I couldn’t be more excited to work with Sara Sadik, whose practice carefully investigates and mines the intersection of art, gaming and digital technology. Sadik’s project for BMW Open Work 2023 — a video game specially conceived for the BMW i5, using the car as a unique experiential device, and a film installation to play in the BMW lounge — brings the programme in a wholly new direction. I can’t wait for this project to take over the spaces of KOKO, reinforcing Frieze and BMW’s joint commitment to experimental artistic practices.’
Hedwig Solis Weinstein (Head of BMW Arts & Thought Leadership Collaboration) added: ‘Together with our partner Frieze, we created BMW Open Work in 2017. Our vision is to enable creation across art, innovation, technology and design — it’s all about the importance of dialogue between individuals across disciplines. I am thrilled to welcome Sara Sadik as our next BMW Open Work artist to explore the intersection of art and digital technology inspired by the new fully electric BMW i5. We are excited to collaborate with KOKO for a unique staging of the project.’
Sadik succeeds Nikita Gale (2022), Madeline Hollander (2020-21), Camille Blatrix (2019), Sam Lewitt (2018) and Olivia Erlanger (2017) as the artist chosen for the BMW Open Work Commission.
About the Partnership
Further information on BMW Open Work here.
Main image: Sara Sadik, Xenon Palace Championship, film still, 2023 Commissioned by Luma Arles and Google. Courtesy of the artist
