Rester Ou Partir ? Sara Abou Mrad

Opening: July 24, 2024 at 5:00 PM

From July 25, 2024 at 11:00 AM to August 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday until August 24, 2024

“I created my own world to escape reality. I drew a world that suits me, a reality that reflects who I am.”

Over time, I crafted a dreamlike universe, rich in symbols, joyful, vibrant with colors, inhabited by diverse and amusing creatures—a magical, dynamic world full of energy and open to imagination.

Yet, this world is the opposite of my deepest feelings, of how I perceive the reality around me, and the vibrations of the world I experience daily.

Stay or leave? That is the dilemma. Escape or take root? This series, centered around the table, explores the theme of migration, the acceleration of geographic mobility, and the collective and individual impacts of relocation on society, including the dissociation and disunion of families.

This series delves into the feeling of uprootedness, reflecting the sentiment of exile, and the transformation from a collective lifestyle to an individualistic one.

The life of the exile is questioned, along with their aspirations. They face mysterious otherness. The figure of the stranger unfolds, especially in exile, leading to renewal. Discovering a new place is not easy. Suffering, confusion, fear, and instability afflict those who leave their homes, villages, and countries. Psychological, sociological, and financial insecurity replaces a life of comfortable routine.

This is what I have experienced since leaving Lebanon in September 2020. These feelings constantly bring me back to the primal dilemma of staying or leaving, the dilemma of my own transformation in exile. If I leave, do I remain the same? Will exile force me to change? What can I hold onto from the world I leave behind?

The table, a symbol of communion, blessing, sharing, union, pleasure, and sociability, is at the center of my works. In these pieces, the table has clawed legs but is unstable.

Though set for several people and well-decorated, this creature-like table awaits its guests—be it a family, friends, or colleagues gathering. It struggles to bring people together, strengthen bonds, and prevent the disintegration of families. It symbolizes the place where scattered pieces come together, the moment when a synthesis between past and present is attempted, and the spot where a fixed point is established as a hypothesis for the future.

This is the situation my family, yours, and many others face. Members are scattered across continents, emotionally unstable… a table, a meal, a roof bring us together and make us feel secure.

Stay or leave? This idea carries a contradiction of feelings and decisions. Between fear, instability, and insecurity, the exile faces failure.

But with courage, perseverance, resilience, audacity, and adventure, exile can also be a springboard to a new life.