Work: Untitled, 2023 (light sculptures+ blue window)

6 nights, 2023

The six-day war that erupted on June 5 of 1967 had completely reshuffled the region’s landscape by June 10. At the time, curfews were instated, that required that all sources of light be turned off, to limit exposure to enemy air raids. In order to circumvent the curfew, people started painting their apartment windows and their car headlights blue, making them less visible at night.

Rayyane Tabet, 6 nights, 2023, Metal structure, car headlights, and blue enamel paint, 125.5 x 86.5 x 32 cm, Exhibition view Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut 2023

Referencing the geopolitical context in which the Bull’s Head had been first discovered, Tabet experiments with the medium of light, and floods the gallery space with blue. The windows are covered with a blue transparent film, while sculptures produced using modified car lamps, hang from the ceiling, illuminating the space through their blue-painted bulbs.  

Rayyane Tabet, Untitled, 2023, Wooden windows, glass, and blue paint, Variable dimensions, Exhibition view Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut 2023