Sai Mado (The Distant Gaze)

Object Details

Aida Muluneh, born 1974, Ethiopia

Series

4/7 + 2 AP

Label Text

Aida Muluneh explores the links and ruptures between generations, as well as the imperfections and disconnects that shape personal and national experience. She says, “As women, especially as African women, we forget—and the world forgets—our positioning in history and religion and culture.” This work is inspired by the Amharic saying, Temetaleh beye, Sai Mado, Sai Mado, ye liinete eyene mouma ende beredo (As I waited for you in a distant gaze, my eyes melted like ice awaiting your return). For Muluneh, the cloud sky symbolizes the uncertainty of relationships, while the image behind the broken glass looks to a past made present through memories.

Description

Full color photograph in which a woman is positioned centrally in profile, seated on a chair. The woman wears a vivid red pants suit, white shirt, and red tie. Her hands have been painted blue, and her face blue and red. Her plain wood chair rests on a black and white checkered floor, and the wall behind is blue with a pattern of white clouds. A framed black and white photo portrait of the woman hangs on the wall to her proper left.

Provenance

Acquired from the artist, 2016

Exhibition History

I Am: Contemporary African Women Artists, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 20, 2019 - April 3, 2022

Content Statement

As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.

Image Requests

High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/

Credit Line

Museum purchase

2016

Object number

2016-16-2

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© 2016 Aida Muluneh

Type

Photograph

Medium

Inkjet print on paper

Dimensions

Sheet: 81.9 × 81.9 cm (32 1/4 × 32 1/4 in.)

Geography

Ethiopia

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

geometric motif

female

hand

Record ID

nmafa_2016-16-2

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7575d7a1e-a3d8-4d42-a96d-76f588485c12