Tashabok is an ongoing, multilayered project by Lebanese Syrian artist Azza Zein that blends ficto-critical videos with relational drawing, sculpture, and storytelling. It will lead you to an imaginative rethinking of spatial relationships, one that transcends traditional borders and redefines the movement of displaced objects, people, and materials across time and space.
A method of recording and mapping the physical and metaphysical territories evokes ancient text on paper scrolls. These scrolls are not static objects; they are the remnants of collaborative drawing sessions and the brass cutouts, generated from the drawings, are displayed horizontally, mirroring the space or an imagined map.
An integral part of the installation is the conversations captured on video with participants who reflect the complexities of migration. These works delve into migration as a multifaceted experience that is at once cultural, emotional, and material and reflect on how everyday objects carry deep meanings, becoming vessels for stories that travel across borders and generations, bearing the weight of displacement within them.
The installation features organic materials evoking a tangible yet imaginary displaced landscape. Bentonite introduces a tactile element and also carries cultural and wellness associations, further deepening its connection to the material as well as metaphorical processes of mobility and healing.
An interactive wall finally invites visitors to participate in the creation of a collective story. It is here that visitors are encouraged to sketch their own representations of migrating objects and the personal travel that these objects have endured. The goal is to build an expansive map, a continent of emotions and stories that grows with each new contribution.
Artist Azza Zein resides in Narrm (Melbourne) and draws on her heritage and background in economics to create work that focuses on the rematerialisation of migrant materials, addressing themes of care, invisible labour, and the dematerialisation of the economy. Her work has been exhibited widely in Australia and internationally.
The exhibition will be on display at the Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre from Tuesday 10 December 2024 to Friday 28 February 2025, accompanied by a series of public program events. These include a performance by the artist on Saturday 7 December, featuring a live contribution by Lebanese music ensemble Tarabeat and a pop-up bakery by AB Bakery serving Lebanese/Middle Eastern food. On Saturday 1 February enjoy an embroidery workshop led by Lebanese Australian artist Safa El Samad, while a roundtable conversation with artist and academic Andrew Goodman and writer Sherine Shallah on Saturday 22 February will launch the Tashabok publication.
Azza Zein: Tashabok is curated by Dr. Miriam La Rosa and presented by Greater Dandenong City Council.
Key Facts:
Exhibition Overview: Tashabok by Azza Zein is a multidisciplinary project blending ficto-critical videos, relational drawing, sculpture, and storytelling to explore migration, spatial relationships, and displaced materials.
Artistic Elements: The exhibition features collaborative scrolls resembling ancient texts, brass cutouts mirroring imagined maps, videos capturing participant conversations on migration, and organic materials like bentonite symbolizing mobility, healing, and displaced landscapes.
Interactive Component: An interactive wall invites visitors to contribute sketches of migrating objects, creating a collective map of emotions and migration stories.
Artist's Background: Azza Zein, based in Melbourne, integrates her Lebanese-Syrian heritage and economics background to address themes of migration, care, invisible labor, and the rematerialization of migrant materials.
Public Program Events: Highlights include:
- Artist performance with Lebanese music ensemble Tarabeat and Middle Eastern food by AB Bakery (7 December).
- Embroidery workshop by Safa El Samad (1 February).
- Roundtable discussion and publication launch with Andrew Goodman and Sherine Shallah (22 February).
Exhibition Details: Curated by Dr. Miriam La Rosa, Tashabok will be displayed at Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre from 10 December 2024 to 28 February 2025, presented by Greater Dandenong City Council.
