Eternal empire, 2024, Cold wax and oil on canvas, 150 x 130 cm

Sara Chaar

Relics: Memoirs of Water and Sand

21.3 - 20.4.2024

Opening: 21.03.2024 - kl. 17-19

In Relics: Memoirs of Water and Sand, Sara Chaar (b. 1986, based in Lebanon/France) presents her latest works: 10 abstract paintings. Through the use of cartographic imagery, the artist examines the impact of borders, displacement, and spatial relationships on individual and collective identity. The works are a testament to the artist’s commitment to engage with pressing social realities through her canvases.

In continuation to her previous series (an untitled body) on corporal maps, wherein Chaar mapped her own genetic makeup, magnifying microscopic cells to question social constructions of identity, Relics focuses on bodies of land and the ways in which humans have organized, disorganized, and reorganized them through borders. In doing so, the artist highlights the fluidity and dynamism of the shapes of the countries and continents that we live in - exposing their subjectivity.

As implied by the title, time plays an essential role at the heart of this exhibition, with each painting depicting the same landscape undergoing numerous transformations reflective of its geopolitical evolution over time. The physical shape of these lands are purposefully abstracted into an expression that prompts viewers to question themes of identity, memory, and the human experience within tense socio-political environments.

At the inception of this exhibition, Chaar conducted research on ancient cartography with a special focus on Mesopotamia, where civilizations such as Sumerians, Akkadians and Babylonians have thrived and flourished. Innately, the artist identified similarities in the shapes depicted in the maps she examined and those of human cells, prompting her to acknowledge the undeniable link between individuals and the landscapes they inhabit. By drawing our attention to these parallels, the artist invites viewers to question their personal perceptions of home, belonging, and heritage.

Ultimately, Relics invites viewers to partake in the artist's archaeological exploration aimed at unraveling the roots of contemporary societal turmoil. The landscapes depicted can be interpreted as a form of communal self-portraiture, fragmented and disrupted by our constant physical displacements. Within the scenes that sprawl out before us, there are inklings of the human form, fostering the emergence of organic growth. By examining these images, which flirt between abstraction and representation, we are encouraged to search for home.