Hand-built glazed ceramics, with a concrete base, metal and 3D print figurine/autoportrait in resin.
Year 2023
102 x 25 x18cm
105 x 35 x 18cm
104 x 30 x 18cm
Adopting the visual vernacular of the totem, akin to a sacred entity representing a collective in primitive societies, Assi fashions ceramic replicas of animals and figurines alluding to war and mythology. Stacked between sand bags and erected on a concrete base, they directly refer to Beirut’s museum objects of art put in concrete boxes to protect them from damage and pillaging during the Lebanese civil war.
Upon these totems, she superimposes effigies of herself, thereby subverting classical mythological depictions wherein women are often relegated to stereotypical roles of victim or manipulator.
Retelling stories and reframing actors in this stories to better understand its contemporary impact, the artist questions the art’s legacy under contemporary lenses.
