MY CITY SHORE. ZENA ASSI

About

Countries within this turmoil are re-drawing their borders yet again, new walls and fortifications have been erected, landscapes are utterly changing, bridges demolished, areas quarantined; all in the hope of containing these masses on the move.

My City Shore, the latest series of works, is an attempt to put on canvas the landscape of a constantly shifting city shore, where the desperately sought after reality progressively merges with the surreal, loses its shape, and transforms into nothing but a mirage. The notion of a vibrant secure city haven is being exposed only to see what‘s beneath; it is fixed on a canvas only to witness its hollow prefabricated infrastructure.

This body of works formulates an invitation to question how our cityscapes can subsist, materially, socially, as well as culturally, in light of such a colossal humanitarian crisis.

‘More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, sparking a crisis as countries struggle to cope with the influx and creating division over how best to deal with resettling people.’
BBC news- UK

‘The conflict in Syria, ongoing violence in Afghanistan… abuses poverty, insecurity, war, hunger are leading people to look for new lives elsewhere. Migration is driving people to use perilous routes, by boat and overland, often in flimsy rubber dinghies or small wooden boats.’
The Independent

‘The movement of children and families across Europe is the largest since World War II.’
The New York Times

Opening: Sunday 21st Feb 2016 @ 7:00 pm
Exhibition: 21st Feb till 20th Mar 2016
ArtNight: Monday 14th Mar 2016 @ 07:00 pm
In presence of the Artist
Venue: Art Sawa |DIFC