Sama’/Ma’as, Double-sided, patchwork textile curtain, Various dimensions, Installation views, Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut

Sama’/Ma’as, 2014

Sama’/Ma’as is a series of double-sided patchworks made from curtains and textiles frequently used in Beirut to shade the house from the sun and perhaps even more to shade the private space of the home from neighbouring onlookers. Each of the curtains displays two three-lettered Arabic root words, on either side, only rearranging slightly the order of the letters, allowing different readings of the same word.

These patchworks are a playful reflection on Arabic language resulting from a linguistic research based on readings of Lebanese sociology and linguist Ahmad Beydoun. In his chapter “the imaginary of leers”, Beydoun compares the meaning and origin as well as the choice of Arabs for certain leaders and how these are pronounced and what meaning they generate.