WALID RAAD, Sweet Talks
WALID RAAD
Sweet Talks
November, 5th - February, 19th
hamburg
Appendix_153
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Appendix 153, 2019
These paintings were made in the 1970s by a relatively unknown painter named Suha Traboulsi. They were thought to be experiments in Abstraction, typical of Op Art experiments elsewhere at the time. Recently she confided to me that these paintings were actually inspired by photographs of the shelling of Beirut in the mid-70’s. She also gave me the photographs that inspired the paintings. They are pinned next to the color chart. She also gave me captions in Arabic to attach next to the photographs as well.
Another letter to the reader
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Another letter to the reader, 2015
Sometime in late 1914, Young Turk Minister of War Enver Pasha ordered the storage of hundreds of Iznik motifs thought to be in danger of extinction and/or to protect them from war-time damage. The motifs were crated, boxed and stored in various banks’ vaults in Istanbul. Little did anyone suspect that the motifs somehow managed to sneak out during the war, leaving behind the safety of their shields. While most government officials accused the motifs of treason and subversion, and sought to bring them before the Turkish courts-martial of 1919-1920, few realized that the motifs had actually left their containers looking for the blue, green, and red colors that had long abandoned them.