Monday, April 7, 2014

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Dreams of Freedom








Sandra Issa
Dreams of Freedom
2014
mixed media on newspaper and fabric
25 x 18 cm





Sunday, January 26, 2014

Turkish Wrestling

Sandra Issa
Turkish Wrestling, 2007
2 Artist books, 30 x 20 cm and 15 x 10 cm, unique edition
7 inkjet prints on fine art paper, 30 x 21 cm each, edition of 10.












This project was exhibited in Art/World/Disaster exhibition at the AUB Byblos Bank Gallery 



October 2007. "NOT ONLY POSSIBLE BUT ALSO NECESSARY OPTIMISM IN THE AGE OF GLOBAL WAR". This slogan is posted everywhere in the streets of Istanbul. Hanged on walls and poles, it is suspended above people’s heads. People in the streets are shouting with their fist in the air. This slogan is the title of the 10th International Istanbul Biennial and these people are Turks who encourage their Government to attack the PKK, the Kurdish separatist party.

While walking in the streets of Istanbul, this contrast seems awkward. I try to understand these two contradictory realities together. I remember a film directed by Maurice Pialat about the Pehlivan that describes the Turkish national sport: the oil wrestling. Combining these elements in an artist book and photomontage prints, the result is a strange image of the city.

On one hand, the biennial curated by Hou Hanru, announces optimism as a necessity in these times of global war. It shows the works of artists who are supposed to be the actors of a fight for the democratic modernization of the world. On the other hand, streets of Turkey are demanding a war that seems for them as a necessity to solve problems, to allow a different optimism. Visions of the world are confronting each other’s but all want to achieve a necessary change.





Saturday, December 7, 2013

Art / World / Disaster exhibition







Art / World / Disaster was conceived and organized by U.S. based Mexican artist and Duke University professor Pedro Lasch specifically for the AUB Byblos Bank Art Gallery and the broader artistic community of Beirut. Large-scale banners produced by Lasch are hung in the vaulted arches and windows of the AUB Byblos Bank Art Gallery, as well as in other venues in the city. Inside the gallery, the banners are accompanied by the works of local artists, activists, and AUB students, all of them produced and selected according to their resonance with the theme of this exhibition. The project is accompanied by a series of workshops organized by Lasch at AUB, as well as two public discussions. 




 Exhibition from November 28, 2013 till January 19, 2014


 View of the exhibition at the AUB Byblos Bank Art Gallery











 A Video by artist Magali Claude


 An installation by artist Sandra Issa. 2 artist books, 7 prints


  An installation by artist Sandra Issa. 2 artist books, 7 prints









Friday, November 22, 2013

Art / World / Disaster



Dear Friends,


I hope you are well.
This fall, I am participating in a project by Pedro Lasch at the AUB.
I am inviting you to join us for the opening of the exhibition

Art / World / Disaster

this Thursday November 28, 2013. 6-9 pm

at the AUB Byblos Bank Art Gallery 
AUB Campus, Bliss street, Hamra, Beirut - Lebanon


Exhibition: November 28, 2013 - January 19, 2014
Public conversation: Friday November 29, 6-8pm. 


Participating artists:
Pedro Lasch  / 52 Weeks of Gulf Labor  / Magali Claude  / Dima Hajjar  / Sandra Issa  / Georges Rabbath / Christopher Rizkallah / Saba Seyedeh Sadr / Lara Tabet/ Nayla Kronfol / Sana'a Mouhaidli / Edwina Nassar / Ghassan Nassar / Nataly Sarkis / Karen Zeidan



Please find attached the invitation and a detailed program.
I hope to see you there. 

Sandra Issa