Trace of Departure

Faces, bodies, children, and the ever-changing world around me—art has always been my language and my weapon of resistance. My struggle for survival was no longer just my own; I became a mother, navigating the aftermath of war, making life-altering decisions—leaving my home, bringing a child into an uncertain world—all while trying to find stability in a reality that grew more chaotic by the day.

Over time, my art evolved to reflect these transformations. I began deliberately using images of women’s bodies and faces, creating a visual dialogue about life and death, loss and birth, war and survival. To me, women symbolize life, care, and an unspoken defiance against destruction. Their presence in my work became a reminder of the love and humanity that war and displacement so often erase.

This phase marked a radical shift in my artistic approach. I moved away from the fantasy-infused, emotionally charged figures of my earlier work and turned instead to direct, real-life imagery. I repurposed these images, embedding them into my art to reflect the struggles of displacement, fear, and loss. Fabric, once central to my work, became less dominant, while photography and found images took on a more significant role. I sought to confront reality with absolute honesty—to document, to resist, and to reshape my visual memory within a world that constantly shifted beneath my feet.

During this time, cutting became an essential part of my process—so much so that I realized I had chosen scissors as a tool to cut through my own memories. I collected anything I could find—magazines, newspapers, scraps of colored paper, any material that could be repurposed—to construct visual narratives of a reality that words could not fully capture: the war there, the displacement here.

As a refugee in Lebanon, a country that had known instability for decades, I felt as if I were part of a vast stage play, where everyone—including myself—was performing. Survival tools became rituals: we danced, we ate, we swam, we socialized, convincing ourselves that we were okay. But in that space, I began to feel invisible, as if my identity was dissolving. That’s when I turned to ink.

From this stage forward, I integrated bold, unfiltered ink lines into my work—moving beyond the constraints of cutting and collage. These lines were sharp, deliberate, and undeniable, as if they were trying to anchor fleeting moments in place, asserting presence in a world that constantly threatened to erase it.

Title: "A refugee is mdre than anumber"
Medium used: Collage magazines, colored paper, paints, black ink pens, tulle.
Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm
Date: 2013

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, Textiles,Black ink pens.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2014

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, Textiles,Black ink pens.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2014

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, black ink pens, textiles.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2013

Title: "Life is a theatre play"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper,oil pastel , black ink pens.
Dimensions: 20 x 20 cm
Date: 2013

Title: "Life is a stage"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper,oil pastel, black ink pens, textiles tulle.
Dimensions: 20 x 20 cm
Date: 2013

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, black ink pens, textiles.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2013

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper,oil pastel black ink pens.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2013

Title: "I Am Not Neutrall"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, oil pastel, black ink pens.
Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm
Date: 2013

Title: "Beyond Grey"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, oil pastel, black ink pens.
Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm
Date: 2013

Title:"Miracles Always Exist"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, oil pastel, black ink pens.
Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm
Date: 2013

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, textiles.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2013

Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, textiles.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2013

Medium used: Collage magazines, colored paper, black ink pens.
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Date: 2013

Title:"Be the Unknown Soldier"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, pastel and watercolor paints, black ink pens, textiles, and tulle.
Dimensions: 40 x 22 cm
Date: 2013

Title: "Refugee Camps"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, pastel and watercolor paints, black ink pens, textiles, and tulle.
Dimensions: 40 x 22 cm
Date: 2013

Title: "Play Your Part"
Medium used: Collage from fashion magazines, colored paper, pastel and watercolor paints, black ink pens, textiles, and tulle.
Dimensions: 40 x 22 cm
Date: 2013