Abdus Salaam’s first residency at Studio Giorgio Angeli in Pietrasanta, Italy 2024 was his first use of Carrara marble and his entry into the world of such a revered material and the ecosystem of tools and history that surrounds it. As is his approach to stone, all works are made via direct carving (without models or assistants) by hand, chisel and angle grinder, that in contrast to the stones he forages in South Africa, are soft, materially continuous and abundant.

Familiar forms such as ‘Our Last Stone’ and ‘Sajda’ find new levels of intricacy, sensuality and angular satisfaction, while entirely new forms explore the limits of marble’s structural integrity. As in the case of ‘Seedling’ which peaks at 3mm in thickness over its arched rim with an emphasis on transparency, delicacy and the weightlessness of the wings of the Maple seed, an on going theme in the artist oeuvre, first initiated during his residency at the Institute for Public Architecture in NYC 23’. The sculpture is also a continuation of the form ‘Fullness’ first exhibited at his solo presentation at Abu Dhabi Art 23’.

Lastly, ‘Over-thought’ in black marble with white veins explores multidimensional continuous surface areas and their relationships to each-other as a single block of marble is carved by hand into what feels like three distinct forms that appear as one and twist over a void of nothingness - a consistent theme in Salaam’s oeuvre. Conceptually the work is about thought. It is an abstract form of the act of over thinking and ignoring one’s connection to the oneness of existence via one’s intuition. Te white veins are most striking at the incline like synapses, lightning or the electricity of thought, dissipating into light specks as the form begins to climb and fall again.