In Latifa Echakhch’s new work ‘Wind Wall Icon’ golden shapes are shimmering on a coarse
grey surface. Like clouds on a smoky sky, the glowing, irregular patches assume forms which
seem to oscillate between abstract and biomorphic pattern. In harsh contrast with the irregular
roughness of the concrete layer, delicate ripples pervade the golden surface, evoking the
traditional gilding process where thin layers of gold leaves are applied on a stratum of red
base color. These multiple visual and material qualities of the art work are also reflected in the
title of this new series. ‘Wind Wall Icon’ evokes two specific artistic traditions - the Japanese
paravents of the Byōbu style (“wind wall”) and the orthodox Icon. The dynamic nature of
the Asian folding screen, and its literal allusion to the atmospheric element of the wind, is
juxtaposed to the static immobility of the devotional image.