The Running Horse

Soft Sculpture investigates alternative aspects of the traditional practice, reintroducing this art through video, photography and new media. In relation to the body and the sanctity of the intimate, both the work and one’s perception of the work are reshaped into an alternate reality.This shift beckons the participants to reconsider pre-existing notions by launching them on a personal journey of self discovery and reflection, with no limitation but one’s imagination.

The nature of sculpture has changed considerably over time, moving from a traditional multi- dimensionally scaled structure, depicting figurative or abstract forms, to more conceptual approaches, showcasing sculpture as a reflection of contemporary issues and therefore relating to contemporary materials (ready made, plastics, clothing & fabric, light, the body, etc).

The Surrealist movement was a definite precursor in many matters. The investigation of the subconscious, the anti-form trends, and the breaking out of all formalist approaches, brought to us pieces, like Breakfast in fur by Meret Oppenheim, in 1936, where a teacup, saucer and teaspoon, lined with fur defy all sensory feelings in comparison to the title of the piece.

Since the 1960s, artists have redefined the limits of sculpture, through the way it was created, what it was created with and the way wanted it to be perceived. The use of the readymade, in addition to a set of new generation tools, objects and materials, could be seen in numerous works, one of which is that of Eva Hesse entitled Contingent, 1969 (Eight panels made with cheesecloth, latex and fiberglass, are strung up from the ceiling in a set order). The works of artists like Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Beuys, Annette Messager, and Mona Hatoum, are other fine examples, to name a few.

Soft Sculpture or the Ordinary Reinterpreted, looks at the artistic execution of four locally emerging artists, all of whom introduced contemporary materials that interact with their daily experiences in different fashions. Manifesting sculpture through video, photography, and new medias, this exhibition also explores the alternative aspects of sculpture as a traditional art form.

Ziad Antar

The project, Veil Series by Ziad Antar, is a response to the religious awareness brought up since the 1980’s around the importance of the headscarf. Veil Series took place in the Palestinian camp of Ein Al-Hilwé (literally translated sweet eye in Arabic) near Saida where Antar asked nine teenagers to use headscarves from their homes to create any shape they wanted.

The final pieces, photographed by Antar, are proof of this creative project, expanding on the factual symbolism of the headscarf, where the latter becomes a signifier, allowing detraction from its social significance, to a beautiful metamorphoses through interpretation.

The various soft shapes have the innate potential of bringing out an array of emotions ranging from joy to torture, which in turn depends entirely on the viewer. Here, the veil is then uncovered, and becomes a tool to depict the mindset of these young girls.

Although Veil Series are photographs representing soft sculptures, this piece is quite relevant to this show as it maintains the frail characteristic of the headscarf, captured and immortalized by the photographic process.

Rasha Kahil

The Eye by Rasha Kahil, is a video short where the viewer is face to face with the artist, more specifically, her eye. During the footage, her fingers force the eyelids open, clearing a larger area of the eyeball, which then starts looking out in frenzy in all sorts of directions. The viewer is confronted by the forceful abuse of the eye, thus perceiving the latter as an object that becomes abject.

As the eye gets irritated, red and teary and the eye lids swell, new boundaries are set, allowing the viewer to see beyond the eye. The eyelids separate from the eyeball and transform into a liplike form; one could almost see a vulva...
We are looking at a body, an object that is alive and in constant mutation, one that reminds the viewer of Duchamp’s readymade visual metaphors. Therefore, this work has a space of its own, and is treated as a sculptural entity.

Hiba Kalache

Hiba Kalache’s ‘Collective Imprints’ are site-specific and time-based interactive sculptures that require the audience’s participation. The work consists of 2 pieces: thank you...it’s a pleasure and be my guest.

The first piece is a ‘social sculpture’ where the artist strategically stands in the gallery with a big bucket of raw dough and invites viewers to shake hands with her after placing a soft piece of dough in her palm. Each handshake will create an imprint of the brief intimate encounter, which is perceived as evidence documenting that interaction. In that specific context, the ‘handshake’ provides a framework for the viewer to question his notions on what a formal art space is all about and his interaction with it or in relation to it . The term “social sculpture” was coined by Joseph Beuys in the mid 1970s to describe his “expanded conception of art”, and to answer his early questions on what the form and essence of sculpture might be.

Kalache’s second piece “be my guest” invites viewers to interact with the space in a different manner: the fabric cushions of the gallery benches are replaced by hand woven transparent plastic cushions filled with raw dough, on which the viewers are asked to sit and leave their physical imprints.

Through both works, newmarkings/affirmations in timeand space are re-defined.

Ziad Saad

Ziad Saad works with a broad spectrum of subjects and mediums, often revealing, in an almost voyeuristic way, private moments experienced by others, thus redefining those pre-conceived boundaries through sound, music and video. The Soft Sculpture project has triggered new goals in Saad’s work, where he investigates the Soft through medium, subject and color. Saad’s piece entitled ‘deflated’, reproduces a large pink-scaled skin, worn-out and sagging, which hangs down from the ceiling. It is a representation enlarged to the grotesque of the tired, almost dead male genitalia, clearly mocking inflated egos and attitudes of our modern societies. The bright pink color further adds irony to an already ironic piece, emasculating the fool.