Kevork Mourad

www.kevorkmourad.com

Kevork Mourad’s installation, SAILING TO NOWHERE, epitomizes a powerful visual narrative within the Sheen Center lobby to compliment the central themes of IPHIGENIA POINT BLANK. The installation offers a sculpture-drawing--drawing on fabric, hand-cut and suspended from the ceiling--of a boat hanging in the air, adorned with haunting portraits of refugees hanging below deck, symbolizing lives lost and displaced amid ongoing conflicts. This evocative artwork invites audiences to partake in a shared ceremony by walking in and around the piece, which will nearly touch the floor, encouraging reflection, remembrance, and acknowledgment of those affected by wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

Mourad, a painter and video artist of Syrian-Armenian descent, brings a deeply personal connection to this project. “I have been living and working in New York for some years, but I was born in Syria of Armenian parents,” shares Mourad. “My origins play a fundamental role in my work, intimately linked to the names of this never-ending tragedy,” he adds. “I believe that the importance and urgency of the subject matter of my project will benefit the New York Community.”

The installation invites viewers to engage with collective memory, presenting the names of the deceased in Arabic calligraphy as a final tribute, a prayer for their existence. Mourad's work embodies a vital act of remembrance and a courageous expression of creativity amidst tragedy, encapsulating a rich cultural heritage while lamenting immeasurable loss. For Mourad, this installation signifies more than an art display—it's a platform for communal reflection and an artistic representation of the plight of refugees.