Conceiving a work of art often comes as an intimate act: A journey into the self, an encounter with the ‘I‘, a confrontation with one’s own person — intense moments that stand at the very beginning of creation. Such as in Marya Kazoun‘s multi-faceted practice where drawing and sculpture embrace installation and performance. Born in Beirut, the Lebanese artist left the country at the age of eight in order to move to Switzerland prior to setting herself up in Canada first and New York second. From there, life took her to Venice. The diverse socio-cultural realities have since translated into her oeuvre in manifold ways. Shifting places — and by extension identity — have found a reflection in the materials the artist chooses: Glass, fabric and thread converge to craft and weave the narrative of her artistic universe. Always in flux, hers are worlds of strange allure as a fluid sense of identity determines her visual language across different genres. 

The cosmoi she projects emerge as experiences to be felt rather than solely looked at, inhabited rather than observed. By this, Marya Kazoun has become one of the leading names in the MENA region and beyond, renowned for creating beyond the confines of the objective or rational in a push for alternative realities.

Photo credit: Marya Kazoun