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Life Beyond the Self – Solo Exhibition by Christine Safatlty
Letter from the director
We are delighted to announce the opening of AD Leb’s second solo exhibition, Life beyond the self by emerging Beirut-based artist, Christine Safatly.
Since working with Safatly on previous projects, we have been struck by her willful and deeply impassioned approach to art-making. Her remarkable talent and audacity in addressing complicated themes are evident in each work, coupled with her daring artistic techniques that often involve the unexpected use of everyday materials.
Art, at its core, serves as a conduit for probing philosophical inquiries, and Christine Safatly’s work in Life beyond the self exemplifies this beautifully. Safatly’s exploration of themes of posthumanism in these works was particularly compelling to us, given the contemporary societal significance of the subject. In challenging notions of separation between humans and their surroundings, she brings to light the delicate exchanges that underpin this supposed separation, striking at our misguided anthropocentrism.
Her recent body of work also delves further into the intertwining of humanity and technology, with each piece delivering a timely reminder of technology
and infrastructure’s profound impact on our socio-political relations and psychological make-ups. Her experimental spirit thus aligns with AD Leb’s vision, as we seek to push boundaries and foster dialogue that transcends traditional artistic norms.
The austere medical ambience of the scenography, designed in collaboration with Etienne Coppé exclusively for the Mayflower Hotel former storage space, complements the artworks and creates an immersive total experience. As we welcome you to Life beyond the self, we invite you to embark on a journey of contemplation and questioning.
As the Director of Art Design Lebanon, I would like to thank everyone involved in the making of the exhibition. I would also like to extend gratitude to Mawred Culture Resource for their continuing support to Christine Safatly.
As for our dear visitors: your presence is integral to the success of this exhibition, and we look forward to sharing this artistic exploration with you.
Warmest regards,
Annie Vartivarian
Life Beyond the Self
AD Leb is pleased to present Beirut-based Christine Safatly’s first solo exhibition Life beyond the self, comprising 31 paintings and drawings alongside two new sculptural works. The exhibition has received partial funding from The Cultural Resource, Al Mawred.
Posthumanism underpins Safatly’s practice as she interrogates the notion of separation between the human self and its environment, bridging the mental divide between “us” and “them”. She challenges our misguided belief in anthropocentrism by shedding light on the intricate interplay between humans and other sentient beings, entities often dismissed as lacking any form of intelligence. Safatly’s recent body of work also deepens her investigation into the intertwining of humanity
and technology. Across different media, her creations serve as testimony to technology’s impact on our anatomy, psyche, and political structures. Through the amalgamation of diverse materials, she aims to articulate the tangled ecosystems that humans often appropriate, whether biological or technological.
In four series of works featured in this exhibition, namely Lemon Tree, Harvest
Time, Virgin Forest in the Setting Sun, and Seafaring, the synthetic and toxic are brought to bear on domestic and idyllic images of untouched nature. By way of example, the drawings in the Lemon Tree series are playfully rendered in acrylic and charcoal on plastic table covers featuring lemon motifs. The lemon, a vivid icon of Mediterranean and Lebanese agriculture and cuisine, contrasts with the ominous assemblages of flesh and infrastructure summoned methodically by Safatly.
In Sentient Species, Safatly marries figuration with abstraction on paper, ultimately manifesting the interconnectedness and hybridity of all sentient beings, all the while shifting the focus away from humans as the central point of reference.
Finally, the Human Enhancement series, coupled with the two sculptural works titled The Anthropological Machine, composed of wire, fabric, nails, circuit boards, and other infrastructural components, interrogate the technological augmentation of humans and its ensuing ramifications.
Hosted in a former storage space of the Mayflower Hotel, the exhibition’s scenography was designed with Safatly’s frequent collaborator, Etienne Coppé. The mismatched floor tiling and the austerity of the display fixtures echo the timeless and primordial laboratory space whereby Safatly performs her experiments, whilst evoking the evolution across the ages of humanity’s influence on its habitat.
Throughout these works, Safatly examines humanity’s relationship to its internal and external Others, addressing war, infrastructural collapse, and environmental toxicity. Humans, though not all the same, are envisioned as one disruptive species among many others. The exhibition seeks to spark in viewers a desire to rebel against the wish to dominate nature, envisioning together a form of life beyond the constrained individual self.