We Belong With The Ocean #01. 2017

Limited edition set. Edition of 5.

The message “We Belong With The Ocean” is about recognizing our inseverable connection to nature- that we are the ocean, and the ocean is us. The artist drew inspiration from the subjects Wata Mata, the phrase ‘water matters’ in pigeon English, and Mami Wata, a mythological creature venerated in West Africa that takes the form of a mermaid and seduces men from their wives. Mami Wata spirits are mostly described as female, but they sometimes take on male characteristics. 

Saidi emphasizes the experience of water as a central element of all human life, one that transcends concepts of gender. It is a rejection of the societal norms that apply gender structures to people, beauty, and even natural phenomena like the ocean. Through this series, she brings awareness to the forces that impact how we evaluate beauty, which results in the pollution of ourselves and the natural world that is our source of life.