For this exhibition, I wanted to explore the meaning of happiness in scenes reconstructed from memory (Odiessah). In an environment tainted by fear, instability, and insecurity, fuelled by the global pandemic, I wish to channel my creativity and imagination in order to express my optimism, resilience, and hope. I produce upside-down paintings that portray the coexistence of the pandemic with our lives, drawing a parallel to the state of the world, and how if we keep our eyes open, we are able to grasp the beauty that lies beyond the darkness, whether it exists in the form of a flower, a tree or a house. The show is thus a culmination of my evolution over the last six years, embodying the journey from pain and hardship to following the path to healing. With every wave of challenge, I have found creative outlets to overcome difficulty, and I wish to share with others this personal, but also collective, diary of human emotion.
Hoda Baalbaki