2012-2018 | Neon | Variable dimensions

Islamic Writing
2012-2013 | Animated neon series | Variable dimensions

An installation of neon signs spelling out words that have become paranoid signifiers of Islam in the West. Words that refer to phenomena as diverse as food, clothing, and religious belief have all come to reside within one and the same category. Names or terms of objects and activities in daily life have become catalysts of a new kind of exoticism. This playful work seeks to illustrate how Islam is sometimes viewed, labeled, and branded. The neon-lit words, which look like shop signs, are in English and not Arabic, creating a bright pop aesthetic while simultaneously highlighting deeply held prejudices.

My Pain Cannot Be Described in Words
2015 | Neon | 80 x 126 cm

A neon sign depicting the English phonetic sound of pain - Ouch. Its colorful, neon-lit pop aesthetic is attractive and nostalgic on the surface, but upon giving the work a closer look when reading its title, one can see there is a much more tragic and grim story at play here. The lighthearted beauty of the piece lures the viewer into the opposite expression of real sharp-edged agony, burning brightly like a shout in the darkness or an openly exposed wound.

Obsessions
2018 | Neon

At a glance, the work alludes to generic names of perfume or cosmetic brands, scattered widely across the world of mass-consumption we see around us everyday. But in this instance its flashy brightness is utilised in a contrasting manner: it illuminates the fusion of transmitted narratives dealing with personal tragedy and loss. The word reflects the artist’s recurring obsession with the fate of his father, who was mysteriously murdered when the artist was only a child.

Azya’ Yassin
2018 | Neon

A fictional sign for a shopfront display of the fashion designer Samir Yassin - the artist’s father. The work imagines what his store would look like if he was alive long enough to unveil it. By producing fake archives, stories and objects surrounding Samir’s life, the artist imagines a parallel world that could have been.

Torino Express
2015 | Neon | 38 x 80 cm

A neon sign that acts as an homage to the artist's favorite bar in Beirut, one that has a deep history and dedicated clientele. The shape, color and design of the neon is based on the original sign in the bar window, but is curiously transformed into the artist's own name. The words Raed Yassin hung in the exact same position in the bar window as the owners were in the process of fixing their original sign. First unnoticed because of its similarity, the sign gradually caused commotion and confusion in the city that the artist had somehow acquired the bar for himself. In this sense, the work also had a performative life as an intervention, as it highlighted the comfort and memories that spaces like these represent, and how gentrification and hostile takeovers destroy and betray the social fabric of cities under the guise of an invisible intruder.