Mathaf is thrilled to present No Condition Is Permanent, the exhibition which is dedicated to Taysir Batniji’s art (born in 1966, Gaza). The show features his art pieces which were created from 1997 to 2022. Although he lives in France, it is Palestine that serves as a focus of his life and work. The exhibition is open to the public until January 21, 2023.
The exhibition shows the whole range of practices Taysir Batniji uses to create his art: photography, painting, drawing, video, installation, and performance. With the help of his own unique visual language, the artist documents mundane life. He concentrates on such themes as the displacement trauma, the shifting meanings of memory, and the idea and dynamism of identity.
The exhibition’s title refers to Batniji’s work, No Condition Is Permanent (2014).
In 2007, Taysir Batniji was invited by the Swedish artist Rayelle Niemann to participate in a workshop titled “No Condition is Permanent”, but he could not attend it. Later, he responded to its content by creating a sculpture composed of hundreds of soap bars piled up on a wooden pallet. Each bar was engraved with the Arabic saying “Dawam el Hal Men Al Mohal” (“No condition is permanent”).
In Arab countries, this saying is used to bring comfort and hope to those who are facing painful situations: it carries the idea that pain will not last. But at the same time, the adage emphasizes the weight of relativity on human conscience. It sounds as if it was a reminder of our own condition.
The fragility of this faith in better days is highlighted not only by inviting people to take away part of the installation with them, but also by the fragility of the material itself. Contrary to a message engraved on stone, one stamped on a soap bar will inevitably vanish with time and use.
To learn more, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
You may also be interested in visiting the exhibition When The Ground Was by Sarah Almehairi.
