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Another talented Lebanese artist is showcased at the Janine Rubeiz Gallery, and not just any artist! Sara Abou Mrad, a multidisciplinary artist, painter and sculptor, was propelled to Paris after winning the “Call for Young Artists from Lebanon” competition launched in 2020 by Jacques Lang and Claude Lemand.
Between 2011 and 2022, she garnered multiple trophies and international awards and participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Beirut and abroad. Her works are part of several collections, including those of the IMA in Paris and the Dalloul Art Foundation in Beirut. They have even been auctioned publicly in Lebanon, France and Romania between 2020 and 2023.
Her exhibition “Rester ou partir,” running at the Janine Rubeiz Gallery until August 23, 2024, opens with a question. A dilemma that precedes the departure of migrants driven by war, famine or oppression and continues to haunt expatriates faced with loneliness and adversity.
This heartbreaking choice is also imposed by the cruel necessity of political events or globalization, shifting from a collective lifestyle to an individualistic one. This poignant and topical subject thus addresses the breaking of ties, separation and the distress of all the uprooted people of the earth in search of more clement skies.
Departure, at the center of the work, is certainly perceived as an escape from the harsh reality of the world but also as a flight, a transcendence through artistic creation.
The theme addressed by the artist is consequently universal as it concerns the existential anguish embedded deep within the being, that of a humanity exiled on this earth, experiencing the absence of a lost paradise.
Through a symbolic and colorful language, Sara Abou Mrad immediately transports us into an imaginary universe where movement and turbulence reign.
Indeed, the artist’s paintings are the very expression of this uprooting from the country, memories and loved ones. A female silhouette, the artist’s double, seems to float in the void, completely disoriented, in search of unlikely landmarks or connections.
At the center of the work, the table firmly anchored to the ground embodies rootedness, stability, security and comfort. Laden with all kinds of victuals, it offers all the signs of abundance and conviviality.
The fish, present everywhere on the canvases, represent community life as they always travel in groups. They are also a symbol of miraculous fishing, reminding us that the fruits of the land are a gift from heaven and that the homeland is a nourishing mother.
The brown, warm and luminous colors of the floor embody the emotional ties to home and land. A warm and reassuring universe, sometimes confined, which sometimes contrasts with the dark and gloomy blue night background, embodying the icy coldness of the leap into the unknown, insecurity and fear.
Personifying this anxiety, the table in some paintings seems to tip into the void, carrying in its fall all the food it is laden with, happy memories of a bygone past.
It then transforms into a menacing and unpredictable beast, tearing the soul and spirit apart with contradictory feelings. Its legs become hairy paws, bearing claws or hooves, conveying the fear of otherness, the fateful threshold to cross.
The reassuring image of the joyful and familiar table then seems distorted, disfigured, while in the background, an ethereal blue sky fades away, taking with it chairs and material and psychological supports. A whole world of comfort and well-being thus seems to topple into an abyss of uncertainty.
Indeed, the moon ceases to be luminous and welcoming, becoming scarlet and disturbing.
The table seems to spin, the tablecloth and the victuals carried away in an infernal ride by a headless horse losing its balance.
The saucer appears to grimace, the tablecloth raises its arms in a gesture of helplessness. The chairs, symbolizing family members, scatter in a wind of panic, a scramble that strangely translates the urgency of departures.
However, this language, both dynamic and childlike thanks to the bright colors and the naivety of the drawing, encourages more lightness, feeding on dreams to free oneself from doubt and uncertainty.
Indeed, if in Sara Abou Mrad’s work all the elements are scattered, it is because they are flying towards more weightlessness. An invisible thread continues to connect them like a promise of renewal, an invitation to forge new ties.
A flow of energy seems to then traverse the space to instill confidence, reminding us that change is inevitable, inherent to life itself. That every new adventure calls for metamorphosis. That one must go through the trial by fire, through sacrifice and renunciation, to transform lead into gold.
Isn’t the artist’s journey itself the shining proof of this rebirth?
Come and discover this unique and inspiring universe until August 23, 2024, at the Janine Rubeiz Gallery.
