FIRE / CAST / DRAW, 2013

FIRE / CAST / DRAW  takes its inspiration from a cultural divination ritual performed by Tabet’s grandmother specifically for him. The work replicates the process of casting molten lead (equivalent in weight to a single bullet) into water, producing a lumpy nugget from which a face could be discerned. The faces belong to those who bear ill-will towards the divine. Moving across multiple research disciplines – such as art history, numismatics, superstition, and the conflict-ridden history of the Middle East – this installation extends its apotropaic effect to a larger collective with its five-thousand fold repetition, all so that one day those culpable for the region’s many traumas, namely the immense profusion of curses Arabs have endured, will finally be held accountable as their features manifest in the nooks and crannies of these little nuggets.

Abraaj Group Art Prize, 2013