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Katya Traboulsi: Perpetual Identities

April 26 – September 1, 2023

France

France

2016

Brass with patina black

Brass base and top

Edition 3/6

70 x 21 x 18 cm

India

India

2016

Hand carved alabaster stone

Brass base and top

Edition 6/6

76 x 21 x 21 cm

Iran

Iran

2016

Hand painted wood

Brass base and top

Edition 5/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Mexico

Mexico

2016

Hand carved wood

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Canada

Canada

2016

Hand carved and painted

wood

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

76 x 21 x 21 cm

Brazil

Brazil

Hand carved wood painted

Brass top and base

73x21x21

Peru

Peru

2016

Hand carved wood

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Netherlands

Netherlands

Hand painted porcelain

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Germany

Germany

2016

Hand painted resin

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 30 x 30 cm

Italy

Italy

2016

Hand painted porcelain

Brass top and base

Edition 2/6

73x21x21cm

U.K

U.K.

Collage on resin

Brass top and base

75x21x21

AP

Russia

Russia

2016

Hand painted wood

Brass base and top

Edition 3/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Portugal

Portugal

Hand painted porcelain

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Spain

Spain

Hand carved leather on wood

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Ukraine

Ukraine

2016

Old hand embroidery on

resine

Brass base and top

Edition 3/6

73x21x21cm

Turkey

Turkey

2016

Hand painted porcelain

Brass Base and top

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Philippines

Philippines

2016

Mother of pearl shell on

wood, Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Australia

Australia

2016

Hand painted resin

Brass top and base

73x21x21cm

Thailand

Thailand

2016

Hand carved resin and gold

leaf

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Korea

Korea

2016

Hand painted porcelain

Brass base and top

73x21x21cm

edition 1/6

Japan

Japan

Hand painted porcelain

Brass base and top

Edition 4/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

China

China

2016

Hand painted porcelain

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

2016

Hand carved and painted

wood

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Nigeria

Nigeria

2016

Hand beaded on wood

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 32 x 27 cm

Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Hand painted wood

Brass top and base

73x21x21cm

edition 1/6

Vietnam

Vietnam

2016

Hand carved marble

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

76 x 21 x 21 cm

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

2016

Hand carved and painted

resin

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Indonesia

Indonesia

2016

Hand painted wood

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Morocco

Morocco

2016

Brass

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Armenia

Armenia

2016

Hand painted resin

Brass base and top

73x21x21cm

Algeria

Algeria

2016

Hand painted resin

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Palestine, 2016

Palestine

2016

Brass

AP

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Lebanon

Lebanon

2016

Hand carved cedar wood

Brass base and top

AP

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Tunisia

Tunisia

2016

Hand painted porcelain

Brass base and top

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Oman

Oman

2016

Handmade silver and brass

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Iraq

Iraq

2016

Hand carved stone and

marble

Brass base and top

Edition 4/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Qatar

Qatar

2016

Hand painted resin and brass

sticks

Brass base and top

Edition 2/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Saudi

Saudi

2016

Hand carved marble powder

Brass base and top

Edition 5/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

2016

Fabric and jewelries on resin

Brass base and top

Edition 1/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Syria

Syria

2016

Mother of pearl on wood

Brass base and top

AP

UAE

UAE

2016

Hand nailed and painted

wood

Brass base and top

Edition 3/6

73 x 21 x 21 cm

Press Release

Dubai, UAE – Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to announce Beirut based multimedia artist Katya A.

Traboulsi’s solo show ‘Perpetual Identities’ opening on 26th April 2023.

Katya through her art talks about identity as a force that no war can eliminate and that bounces back inevitably. During the Lebanese Civil War, in 1975, she received the empty sleeve of a mortar shell for her birthday, which automatically found its place on a shelf, without further reflection on its nature or the journey which led it to her. Thus, the object, which had blindly sown death where it fell, ended up in her room, raised to the status of a trophy celebrating the courage of fighters or the defeat of enemies. In 2014, as the Arab Springs wilted into winters, the memory of this object, trinket or trophy, called on to Katya again. Reflections on the mortar shell inspired an installation project which sought to divert the weapon from its morbid destiny and make it serve Life. 

The depiction of the shell dressed in a variety (46) of symbolic cultural execution, is the physical and spiritual core of the ‘Perpetual Identities’ project. Each one is handmade, using different materials, including ceramics, porcelain, resin, wood, and iron. Each titled with a country’s name, most are produced by their native artisans. The dimension of these objects being 75 x 20 cm, its base and top are made of brass and/or iron. The shell is a symbol of destruction and renewal, with its distinctive shape, has become one of the most violent symbols of destruction and invasion in history since the invention of the canon. These 46 shells, adorned with the arts and crafts of various countries, become body of designs, themes and skills; bearing the glory of every person and inviting them to join in the universal sentiment of Humanity.

The shell becomes like a ‘book’, an inventory of myths, of traditions of embodied know-how, and invites the discovery of the “Other”. Now its otherwise deadly one-way trajectory becomes an exchange. The shell becomes an ‘arrow’ and sows not death, but knowledge and civilization in the territory of the “Other”. Its scope becomes sociological, theological and philosophical. The many cultures and societies involved in the project enrich the object with seemingly infinite meanings. As part of the process, cultural identities were constantly added as a palimpsest, until the mortar became enriched with reflections and revelations. The mission of this transformed object is to celebrate the glory of Humanity. Removing its primary function permits it to carry universal and immortal messages. The mortar as art transcends its destructive origin and it becomes a melting-pot of perpetual identities.

Katya’s creations are inspired by historical events. The artisans that took part in the project are the perpetual memory of that history, glorifying through their artistic talent the heritage of their identity. An object of death forgotten on a dusty shelf, found itself rehabilitated, transfigured in the sparkling whiteness of a museum, a place of beauty and life. Also endangered are the identities sacrificed on the altar of globalization which imposes an aseptic and effective language, gradually leading to the loss of ancestral know-how, language, tools and its land. Since humans perpetuate by nature, interactions with other cultures enriches and develops our identities, a heritage rooted in our mother land, our past and our culture.

The other part of this exhibition is Katya’s unique collection of painted rear doors of trucks titled ‘Rej3a ya mama’, which as a statement is a reminder of the impatient wait for the return of those who had to leave their homeland. This was inspired by her desire to collaborate with the traditional creators of these designed rear doors and to share their knowledge with her art. In Katya’s words, each truck tells a story, of life, beliefs and love. A moment of driving behind a truck can facilitate a connection with the driver’s story, beliefs and fears, through the graphics and text on the rear door. This project is also an homage to the city of Tripoli in Lebanon and to their tireless truck drivers whose work connects regions and lives without distinction for religious or political differences. Painted with the owner’s identity, the truck doors become a mode of communication with the onlookers; through images, symbols and lyrics acting as memory markers. These designed doors and tailgates that close on life goods have been an opening door for Katya to a new life and artistic experience.

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in 1960, Katya A. Traboulsi is a Beirut based multimedia artist whose practice is characterized by the emotional intensity with which she confronts the effects of the Lebanese civil war. Both her painting and sculptural works are characterized by her bold use of colour, which disrupts the viewer’s expectations of the dark subject matter they are confronted with. Her solo exhibition Perpetual Identities (2018) held at the Salah Barakat Gallery saw presented 46 handcrafted replicas of Lebanese war bomb shells adorned with colourful patterns, beads and sculpted forms, thus transforming these destructive military objects into beautiful, ornate vessels.

In 2013, Traboulsi published Generation War, a body of work that traces the story of photojournalists who witnessed the civil war during the 80s – an homage to their efforts and a political project that seeks to record the country’s complex histories. Traboulsi lived and worked in Dubaï from 1989 till 2016 before returning to her native Beirut. Her work has been exhibited internationally since 1986 in Paris, London, Dubai, Kuwait, North America, the Algerian museum of Modern Art and the International Armory Show in NYC.