Variations On Distance
2020–21
Mixed media and text on paper
30 x 23 cm; handstitched
Artist’s Statement
Cities Under Quarantine came during a heightened sense of uselessness, when everything came to a halt. One was left to wonder: How can we work while under quarantine?
In the beginning I started with the repetition of the word al sabr—patience in Arabic—like a lullaby. The sketchbook took a different trajectory as it witnessed the blast on August 4, 2020. In retrospect, there was something very violent about surviving a major explosion while still trying to socially distance. I remember that it was one of the strangest feelings, in the following days, when any form of compassion was expressed.
This 1.5 meters we were required to keep could have consequences, so people maintained the distance as much as possible. The book became an attempt to transform this distance into form.
وصلتني الدعوة للمشاركة في مشروع مدن تحت الحجر الصحي في ظل شعوري المتفاقم باللاجدوى وتوقف كل شيء من حولي. لم أكن أتوقف عن التساؤل: كيف بإمكاننا مواصلة العمل أثناء فترة الحجر الصحي؟
في البداية بدأت بتكرار كلمة الصبر مثل التهويدة. اتخذت كراسة الرسم لديّ معالجة مختلفة عن تلك التي اعتمدتها أثناء الانفجار في 4 أغسطس 2020. في الماضي، كان هناك انطباع عنيف للغاية تولّد لديّ بشأن النجاة من انفجار كبير فيما فكرة التباعد الاجتماعي صارت أكثر رسوخاً. أتذكر أنه كان من أغرب المشاعر، في الأيام التالية، توخيت التعبير عن أي شكل من أشكال التعاطف.
يمكن أن يكون لعدم الحفاظ على مسافة الـ 1.5 متر هذه التي طُلب منا الحفاظ عليها عواقب، لذلك حافظ الناس على المسافة قدر الإمكان. وأصبح كتاب الفنان من دنقلا يمثل محاولة لتجسيد هذه المسافة في شكل معيّن.
Biography
Majd Abdel Hamid (b. 1988, Damascus) is currently based between Beirut and Paris. He graduated from Malmö Art Academy, Sweden and attended the International Academy of Art in Palestine. Hamid has had solo exhibitions in Glasgow, Paris, and Brussels, and has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including at the Sharjah Art Museum; SMAK, Ghent; Frac Franche-Comté, Besançon; Cité International des Arts, Paris; Ruya Maps,Venice; Beirut Art Center; Krognoshuset Lund, Sweden; and the Valencia Institute of Modern Art, among others. He has taken part in several international residencies and workshops, including March Project (Sharjah Art Foundation), Former West (Berlin), and Truth is Concrete (Graz, Austria). Hamid worked in residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2009. He was a finalist for the Young Artist of the Year Award, presented by the A. M. Qattan Foundation, in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Majd Abdel hamid – Variations on Distance
Quarantined in Beirut; For Cities Under Quarantine – The Mailbox Project