Inside Zadie Xa's Turner-nominated work at the Sharjah Biennial

First impressions of Zadie Xa’s presentation at the Sharjah Biennial are largely dependent on what stage of the work you happen to walk into.

The soothing colours of dusks and dawns dominate the room at Sharjah’s Al Hamriyah Studio, but it is the work’s sound components, emanating through hanging sea shells, that largely inform the mood.

You may walk in to wind chimes, the shush of waves rolling ashore, and the whistle of whales. Or you may be greeted with the trilling of a telephone, the frantic clicks of Morse code – and feel the anxiety of a call unanswered, the spookiness of an untraceable and undecipherable message, or the rage of a spurned one. Then there are the melodies, ringing in sustained and haunting pitches, permeating the space with a spectral essence.

But no matter when you happen to enter the space, stay long enough and the mysticism of the work will mesmerise you.

Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything comprises several elements, from paintings to installation and sound. But it is perhaps best to consider it as a single holistic piece.

The work, which is in the running for the prestigious Turner Prize, was developed in collaboration with Benito Mayor Vallejo. It is largely inspired by Korean shamanistic practices, namely Salpuri. The exorcism dance, known for its graceful and cathartic choreography, was aimed at curtailing bad luck.

“Zadie is Canadian-Korean and has been interested for a long time in thinking through these inheritances that she has,” Amal Khalaf, one of the biennial's co-curators, says.

The paintings in the space explicitly reveal this shamanistic inspiration, especially through the women dancing with the handkerchiefs twirling around them – a defining aspect of Salpuri. The marine motifs are also a tell tale sign.

“Korean shamans are very much using animistic parts of Korean culture, so slightly off the mainstream, and there's a lot of figures and mythological figures that are marine mammals,” Khalaf says.

In Moonlit Confessions, as well as several of her previous works, Xa incorporates shells, fish, whales and other marine imagery in her explorations of these shamanistic rituals and history. The paintings at Al Hamriyah Studio feature humpbacks and orcas, octopuses and even real seashells blended within the work.

The centrepiece of Moonlit Confessions is a chandelier-like installation made up of more than 1,000 brass bells that are arranged in the shape of a conch shell. The work, dubbed Ghost, is suspended in the middle of the space, its bells dormant until spurred to a gentle ring with the slightest touch. The chimes are inspired Korean shamanic ceremonial rattles, and evoke sounds of protection. “It could make lots of sound, but is like waiting for us to make sound,” Khalaf says.

Xa incorporates other influences within the work, drawing from Korean history but also from unexpected sources.

The patchwork in her paintings, for instance, are drawn by traditional Korean quilting methods. The frames are composed out of stitched patches of painted canvas. Xa has incarnated traditional weaving methods in other works, but Khalaf says “this is the first time where she is experimenting with canvas using the same method.”

“Zadie’s influences are not just from Salpuri,” Khalaf adds. “You will see shaman grandmothers in the images, but you will see other characters as well. Music, hip-hop, anime, cartoons, there are different totems and figures that are storytellers.

Moonlit Confessions was developed specifically for the Sharjah Biennial, which is being held under the title To Carry. The theme reflects on the many aspects we individually carry, from memories and homes to languages, histories, wounds and ruptures.

Moonlight Confessions responds to theme conceptually and literally.

The seashells hanging around the space emitting sound were collected by Xa and Vallejo from beaches around the world, including in Sharjah. “They found the shells at specific beaches where they had encounters with the sea and with sea life that was meaningful to them,” Khalaf says. “One is from Greece, one is from Korea, and one is from the beach in Al Hamriyah. They made them speaking shells, and developed these sound pieces that really responded to the idea of To Carry.”

Khalaf says she was thrilled to find out Xa’s work had been shortlisted for the Turner Prize.

“I was really excited,” she says. “I’m so proud of Zadie and Benito. I’ve known Zadie for a long time, and after all the studio visits and just witnessing Zadie’s practice develop, I have to say I don’t know many artists that works as hard as Zadie. This person is in the studio day in, day out. She is so creative, really generous with everyone that she works with. And I couldn't think of a more deserving artist to be nominated.”

Sharjah Biennial is running until June 15

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