Tagreed Darghouth, Late Night Studio. Courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, portrait by Sueraya Shaheen
Lebanese artist Tagreed Darghouth has hosted a number of solo exhibitions at Agial Art Gallery, Beirut as well as various international group exhibits including New York, London, and Istanbul throughout her career. Now, Darghouth makes her solo debut in Kuwait with Ain’t Nowhere to Hide, which is currently underway at the Contemporary Art Platform (CAP).
Darghouth’s artwork highlights human paradoxes in modern societies. Speaking to Vogue Arabia she explains, “Through my artwork, I try to speak about paradoxes that are astonishing, where civilized and human rights praising countries seem to fail to apply their same principles when acting against the enemy.”
Tagreed Darghouth Ain’t Nowhere to Hide solo exhibition. Courtesy of Contemporary Art Platform (CAP)
The body of work on display touches on Darghouth’s recent series that is linked to nuclear weapons. Through her unique lens, she reflects on weapons of mass destruction and their monikers. “A nuclear bomb could hold a cute nickname—such as blue bird, brown bunny, and green conifer—yet has the power to eliminate a whole city,” she says. By way of acrylic on canvas or paper, she also cites contaminated landscapes polluted with holes where nuke tests take place, links death through human skulls, and visualizes contemporary objects of surveillance. “Technology and surveillance objects increase the sense of distance among humans. Although, in their essence, are objects that supposedly amplify the image of others. I think [that] as we’re advancing technologically, our vision and conception is becoming more blurred or maybe even impaired,” she adds.
Tagreed Darghouth from the series Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 150 cm
“Ain’t Nowhere to Hide” by Tagreed Darghouth is ongoing until November 30th, 2016 at Contemporary Art Platform (CAP), Kuwait.
