Aya Haidar British-Lebanese, b. 1985
18 1/8 x 24 3/8 in
Further images
Provenance
Exhibitions
Seamstress series, 2024Embroidery on cotton, variable dimensions
This ongoing body of work stems from photographs taken by Haidar in and around Lebanon. Her snapshots depict old buildings, familiar scenes of clothes on washing lines, cabbies, and the streets of her homeland. Adding a new layer to these images, Haidar intervenes by taking these snapshots, printing them on fabric, and embroidering them to offer new meaning.
In one example, she employs a vibrant palette to stitch in the bullet holes found in the buildings. Haidar observes a selective amnesia of the past in Lebanon. Through her process of intervention and remembrance, she raises the question of whether this amnesia is rooted in the perpetual cycle of violence. Haidar argues that it is crucial to showcase the scars of the past. While moving forward is essential, acknowledging and bearing those scars are equally important. Covering them up does not address the underlying issues; it leads to forgetting and masking unresolved matters.
By embroidering these bullet holes, Haidar constructs colourful bandages, making the scars of her country’s past more prominent. This serves as a way to highlight the cycles of violence that keep resurfacing.
Literature
This ongoing body of work stems from photographs taken by Haidar in and around Lebanon. Her snapshots depict old buildings, familiar scenes of clothes on washing lines, cabbies, and the streets of her homeland. Adding a new layer to these images, Haidar intervenes by taking these snapshots, printing them on fabric, and embroidering them to offer new meaning.
In one example, she employs a vibrant palette to stitch in the bullet holes found in the buildings. Haidar observes a selective amnesia of the past in Lebanon. Through her process of intervention and remembrance, she raises the question of whether this amnesia is rooted in the perpetual cycle of violence. Haidar argues that it is crucial to showcase the scars of the past. While moving forward is essential, acknowledging and bearing those scars are equally important. Covering them up does not address the underlying issues; it leads to forgetting and masking unresolved matters.
By embroidering these bullet holes, Haidar constructs colourful bandages, making the scars of her country’s past more prominent. This serves as a way to highlight the cycles of violence that keep resurfacing.