Going for Gold
(2026)
Zaina is a jewellery artist and pattern drawer, but before she became an artist, she was an athlete. Excellence at the expense of oneself, is what they teach you in gymnastics.
When she was eight years old, she became a Flemish champion. That experience made her dream of Olympic gold. But elite gymnastics is a severe teacher: excellence at the expense of oneself. It takes a toll on both mind and body, and I couldn’t stay in a place where growth wasn’t allowed to happen naturally. It was the end of my life as I knew it, and the beginning of a new one from scratch. My new passion became craftmaking and visual arts. The “body” once again became my motivation. The body is fundamental, both in sport and in jewellery.
She uses her muscle memory to show what the body of an athlete truly represents, what intense effort and hard labor elite sport really means, both physically and mentally. The body that is always spinning, always striving, always trying to win. When she discovered that between 1902 and 1948 visual art was part of the Olympic Games, all the pieces fell into place. This became the core inspiration of my practice. She immersed herself in strict movements and transformed them into her own visual language. As reminder to herself to keep moving, keep spinning, and keep going for gold.
By Zaina Benhamou
Artwork
