Tabari Artspace presents Palestinian artist Hazem Harb’s solo exhibition Gauze, which examines the significance of gauze within Palestinian collective histories. The show beckons one to delve into the connections between material, the body, the context, and Harb’s journey as a native Gazan in exile. Curated by Munira Al Sayegh (an independent curator and a cultural instigator), it will be on display until 15 February 2024.
Gauze, a material used in ancient and modern medicine, has been historically crafted in the city of Gaza (Palestine) and serves as a symbol of the act of repair. Harb employed this material intertwined with his national and cultural identity as an art medium for the first time in 2004. Since then, he has been using it in his practice to uncover untold stories from his home city, bringing attention to the hardships Gazans face.
The exhibition is divided into two sections. The main one features a large-scale print of the Great Omari Mosque and a collection of Harb’s art pieces spanning from 1999. Among the notable exhibits are his large-scale charcoal sketches from the Dystopia Is Not A Noun series (2023) and his latest acrylic collages. The second section displays Gauze #22, a series of framed installations focusing on the material. Through these moving artworks, Harb compels viewers to confront the harsh realities faced by Palestinians.
The artist also reveals an archive of his works that he took away from Gaza when he was there last summer for the last time. It comprises paintings and mixed-media works produced from 1999 to 2003 which document Gaza’s architecture and the daily life of its residents Harb witnessed.
About the artist
Hazem Harb (b. 1980, Gaza), whose practice deploys drawing, painting, graphic design, video, sculpture, and installations, divides his time between Rome (Italy) and Dubai. He studied Visual Art at the Academy of Fine Arts (Rome). In 2009, he graduated from the European Institute of Design (Rome) with an MFA degree.
In his art, Harb explores such themes as war, loss, trauma, human vulnerability, and global instability. He examines complex relations between people and places, showing the impact of architecture and landscape on the quality of life and negotiating a space continually reshaped. The artist works with archives (photographs, negatives, maps, etc.) to create collages which invite unheard discourses and prompt a historical reevaluation.
39 2/5 × 59 1/10 in | 100 × 150 cm
Harb has showcased his art pieces in multiple solo exhibitions: Temporary Museum – For Palestine (Maraya Art Center, Abu Dhabi, 2021); Power Does Not Defeat Memory (Sabsay Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2019); Eyes East Bound — the 13th International Cairo Biennale (Egypt, 2019); The Absence of Paths – the 57th Biennale di Venezia (Venice, Italy, 2017); A View From Inside — the 15th Fotofest Houston International Biennial of Photography and photo-related Art (Houston, Texas, USA, 2014); and others. The artist has also taken part in a plethora of group shows and art events: Art Dubai (2022); Al Baseera (Contemporary Art Platform (CAP), Kuwait City, Kuwait, 2020); Gohyang: Home (Seoul Museum of Art (SeMa), Seoul, South Korea, 2019); Art Berlin, Everlasting presence of an Excluded Memory (Tabari Artspace, Berlin, Germany, 2018); Artissima, Present Future (Athr Gallery, Torino, Italy, 2012 and 2014); and many others.
17 7/10 × 20 9/10 in | 45 × 53 cm
The list of awards Harb has received includes a residency at Cite des Arts (Paris, 2013), Satellite (Dubai, 2012), and the Delfina Foundation (London, UK, 2011), among others. In 2008, the artist was shortlisted for the A.M Qattan Young Artist of The Year Award. His creations can be found in the collections of the British Museum (London, UK), Centre George Pompidou (Paris, France), Salsali Private Museum (Dubai), and Faurschou Foundation (Copenhagen, Denmark), to mention a few.
To learn more about Gauze, please visit the exhibition’s official web page.
You might also be interested in attending Diary by Tammam Azzam.
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