Vinyl: DWARF LIFT DWARF “The Pirates’ Who’s Who”
The artistic approach of Saâdane Afif (*1970 in Vendôme; lives and works in Berlin) is characterised by long-term, multi-faceted projects in which various independent works build on each other and are complexly interconnected to build on different levels of meaning. This also applies to The Pirates’ Who’s Who, whose beginnings date back to 2000. The starting point was a large, curved shelf, the Lovely Rita by designer Ron Arad (*1951 in Tel Aviv; lives and works in London) in which Afif presents a constantly expanding, impressive literary collection on the theme of pirates. The small library includes true stories and myths, deals with how new ones emerge from a narrative, how language, content and layers of meaning change — in the literature itself and within the shelf edition. The number of books in the six versions of the shelf increases at different rates — and one edition is considered an untraceable pirate‘s copy, the edition 0/6.
The lexical scale of the work was expanded in 2019 to include ten Lyrics, which Afif commissioned from artist, designer and musician friends such as Simon Denny, Ari Benjamin Meyersand Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster. The Lyrics that can be read on the columns of KAI 10 has been set into music by the experimental Belgian band Dwarf Lift Dwarf during the exhibition Pictured as a Poem and performed in the neighbouring Rudas Studios on November 13, 2021. A few days before, on November 6, 2021, the band performed with the Lyrics at the Grand Casino in Knokke, Belgium in context of Beaufort 21. Now, after the exhibition and the performance in Belgium, a record has been released on the artist label Lyrics Records in cooperation with the artist, KAI 10 and Beaufort 21.
Side A (duration 17:27)
1. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Matelotage) – 5:18
2. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Jolly Roger) – 3:30
3. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Parrot) – 3:51
4. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(no shinpo o togeta ka) – 4:48
Side B (duration 19:14)
5. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Mirror Characters Pursue Each Other) – 4:31
6. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(44 Kicks) – 1:37
7. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Lovely Rita) – 5:59
8. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Number of Downloads at the Date on Which Evidence Was Secured) – 3:52
9. The Pirates’ Who’s Who
(Imagine) – 3:15
Lyrics by
Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld (9.)
Rosa Barba (5.), Simon Denny (8.),
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (4.)
Timon & Melchior Grau (3.)
Lily Matras (7.)
Ari Benjamin Meyers (2.)
Adrien Missika (6.)
Louis-Philippe Scoufaras (1.)
All tracks composed and performed by Dwarf Lift Dwarf (William Lambeau and Valentin Noiret)
Recorded by Dwarf Lift Dwarf at Decoster, Bruxelles, 2021/2022
Mastering: Adrian Flück (Centraldubs), Bern, 2022
With the participation of Manon Sallé (voice) and Stéphane Clor (cello) on track (7.)
Limited edition of 300 copies
Producer: Saâdane Afif
Lyrics Records
LR.010-2022
Badstr. 19 – 13357 Berlin
© Saâdane Afif and Dwarf Lift Dwarf, 2022
Kindly supported by
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION
Beaufort 21
30,- Euro plus shipping