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The one who made himself into millions

Date2023

Maker Azza El Siddique Sudanese-Canadian, born 1984

Label TextGetting Close to Cobras We bring our protective presence from the Nile River, where our black bodies are associated with fertility and renewal. We have authorized Azza El Siddique, the artist, to construct our union. She studied ancient healing wands to form the zigzag of our bodies. Our hoods flare open to warn intruders that we are prepared to strike with a spit of lethal venom. Azza also carefully molded the knobs and bumps on our bodies because they are our sensory alert system—each protrusion is ten times as sensitive as your fingertips! Azza gave us our name based on texts referencing Atum, the god who brought forth all the gods and the world itself. She gave us two heads to represent the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, a symbol of duality and unity. As she says, we are also “pointing to contemporary politics: the constant back-and-forth struggle between two dominant parties, where any notion of progress feels fragile and incremental, often erased as power shifts.”

Object number2025.9

Provenancethe artist, 2023 – 2025; [Bradley Ertaskiran Gallery, Montreal]; purchased by the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2025

Exhibition HistoryMontreal, Bradley Ertaskiran Gallery, that which trembles wavers, March 9 – April 22, 2023.

Credit LineGuendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts

Dimensions26 × 110 × 15 in. (66 × 279.4 × 38.1 cm)

MediumBlack porcelain