The Art of Graceful Mortality

Fadi Yazigi’s art is the quietly witnessing eye of many storms. His studio sits at the heart of Damascus’ Old City, and entering it from a maze of narrow streets feels like crossing into an enchanted world where common materials—clay, cotton, and bread—reveal magical powers.

This apparent alchemy is a product of Yazigi’s fascination with transforming functional objects into artworks with a life of their own. The prolific artist has used everything from aprons to quilts and even feminine hygiene pads as his canvases.

The figures populating his works have a childish whimsy, but these playful figures can carry somber meanings. During the 2008 Gaza war, Yazigi painted rounds of flat bread with childlike glyphs in memorial of the children killed in the assault.

Since 2012, he has fashioned tiny caskets out of disposable containers such as cigar boxes in which bright avatars are humbly interred. In other sculptures, winged spirits give way to actual birds, often in dismembered parts, paying homage to the frail, fleeting beauty of mortal life.

For more info – http://www.fadiyazigi.com/