As an extension of the solo show by Sawsan Al Bahar at Maraya Art Centre, Firetti Contemporary is exhibiting a selection of Sawsan Al Bahar's works. Through drawing, installation, and text, Sawsan explores and experiments with the notion of home as a myth, often narrating her own story by borrowing content from her family's history.
In this exhibition, Al Bahar reinterprets her installation, "Leaving is Home," emphasizing personal narratives. The sculptural sheets bear her late grandfather's writings about his hometown, Yafa, which he left in 1948. She frames fragmented moments of his memories, giving his words a new voice. The installation explores the impact of language on personal history. Like the evolution of language, Al Bahar's work reconstructs an unfinished chapter, inviting visitors to confront fractured remembrances. The exhibition celebrates the history of language, and "Leaving is Home" captures its ability to transcend time, connecting contemporary life to the past, embracing innovative expressions, and understanding the impact of communication throughout history.
On the other hand, the drawings reconstruct memories through domestic objects and places. While they do not depict human beings, they evoke their presence through the traces they leave behind. Hanging in empty space, each object acquires a ghostly presence. The intense yet simple draftsmanship in graphite, a medium that is a trace in itself, becomes a carrier of subtler metaphorical qualities. Sometimes referring to photographs and sometimes drawing from imagination, Al Bahar captures places and objects long gone, such as a fruit plate in her grandmother's kitchen, a Jalabiya dress once worn by her mother, and other motifs from daily life. Her subjects are interconnected, allowing viewers to uncover connections.
