BRUSSELS: Palestinian artist Majd Abdel Hamid, a survivor of the 2020 Beirut blast, has opened his first solo show in Brussels this month, with displays of embroidery and video installations to convey the passage of time.
Born in Syria and now based in Beirut, 33-year-old visual artist Majd Abdel Hamid embroiders fabrics he collects and items he finds, from cushions to kitchen towels.
At times colorful and at other times just white on white, they are designed as an abstract depiction of time and the places he has been, touching on wars, political and economic crises and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been like an acceleration of traumas. It’s not even one trauma that you have. It’s been quite challenging to process what has happened and how can you deal with it,” Abdel Hamid told Reuters TV.
Abdel Hamid was injured in the explosion of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut port in August 2020, with wooden fragments still stuck beneath a scar on his head. The embroidery stitches in his “A Stitch in Times” represent mental and physical scars.
The show at an exhibition space of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermes, at the back of the Hermes store in Brussels will be the first showing of all his work.
Abdel Hamid describes embroidery as a “timeless medium,” a slow process of doing and undoing. One display piece, “Salt of the Earth,” show threads suspended and crystallized by salt. Another shows him unthreading white bed sheets in his home.
“Embroidery is always used to celebrate the pride of a country, the pride of the family, it’s about motifs. When you embroider raw reality, dramatic situations or violence, it creates tension,” he said.
Stitches represent scars in Beirut blast survivor’s art show
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Stitches represent scars in Beirut blast survivor’s art show
- Visual artist Majd Abdel Hamid embroiders fabrics he collects and items he finds, from cushions to kitchen towels
- The embroidery stitches in his "A Stitch in Times" represent mental and physical scars
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
