Drawing & Print (Drawing & Print)

geopoliticalThe Great Game is a series of works composed of a number of card combinations illustrated by the faces of key political figures shaping the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. Each reconstituted ‘hand of play’ corresponds to a diplomatic treaty establishing or modifying geographical borders. The plastic form of a poker hand chosen by the artist highlights the randomness of the process of fixing boundaries and the way in which they do not account for the lives of those located there.

Installation (Installation)

Tadmur by artist Majd Abdel Hamid is influenced by a book by Mustafa Khalifa titled The Shell: Memoirs of a Hidden Observer , which details Khalifa’s imprisonment in the Assad ‘desert prison’ Tadmur. Khalifa’s compelling testimonial is now considered to have enlightened the Syrian public to the atrocities being committed in their country by the Assad regime and catalyzed a political resurgence in Syria. The prison was destroyed by ISIS in 2015 and though the initial reaction by the Syrian public was largely positive, the complete leveling of the prison erases the brutal experiences of the prisoners, many of whom died and those that survived.