China
2012 | Seven porcelain vases | Variable dimensions
Yassin Dynasty
2013 | Series of porcelain vases | Variable dimensions
The Mountain War, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Mountain War, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Mountain War, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Liberation War, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Liberation War, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Liberation War, Porcelain vase, 2012
The War of The Camps, Porcelain vase, 2012
The War of The Camps, Porcelain vase, 2012
The War of The Camps, Porcelain vase, 2012
The War of The Hotels, Porcelain vase, 2012
The War of The Hotels, Porcelain vase, 2012
The War of The Hotels, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Unification of The Rifle, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Unification of The Rifle, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Unification of The Rifle, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Battle of Tal El Zaatar, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Battle of Tal El Zaatar, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Battle of Tal El Zaatar, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Israeli Invasion, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Israeli Invasion, Porcelain vase, 2012
The Israeli Invasion, Porcelain vase, 2012
China is a series of seven porcelain vases depicting battles from the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) produced in Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of China. The works are presented as part-beautiful object, part-historical document, and part-mass-produced product. They echo the ancient tradition of recording victories at battle on vases and ceramics for the sake of posterity, and suggest that countless objects painted by different porcelain masters are being reproduced under the same fictional “dynasty” - generating another derivative series entitled Yassin Dynasty. The battles detailed on the works are ones that were instrumental for territorial, demographic, and political shifts in Lebanon, and their ramifications are still tangible today. The works also embody the image of a Chinese decorative readymade object that could possibly be found in any Lebanese home. This merging between traditional, historical, and artisanal elements creates a conceptually complex and multi-layered work. The circularity of the vases also hint at an impossibility of closure – there is no beginning and no end to the atrocities on display.
Exhibition views - Terms and Conditions - image courtesy Singapore Art Museum
Exhibition views - Leighton House Museum London - photos by Kevin Moran
Exhibition views - Castillo Di Rivoli - photos by Renato Ghiazza
Exhibition views - Witte de With - photos by Kristien Daem
China, Exhibition view, Singapore Art Museum, 2013
China, Exhibition view, Singapore Art Museum, 2013
China, Exhibition view, Singapore Art Museum, 2013
China, Exhibition view, Singapore Art Museum, 2013
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Witte de With, 2020
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Witte de With, 2020
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Thessaloniki Biennial, 2013
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Castillo Di Rivoli, 2014
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Castillo Di Rivoli, 2014
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Leighton House Museum, 2015
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Leighton House Museum, 2015
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Leighton House Museum, 2015
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Leighton House Museum, 2015
Yassin Dynasty, Exhibition view, Leighton House Museum, 2015
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