Kamareen
( 2020 | Copper sheets and neon tubes )
The title of this art piece is “Kamareen”, the dual form of the Arabic word moon. Two semicircles – the two moons represent the duality that the artist sees in every aspect of life. Our beliefs make our reality. With destruction comes new form, new meaning and new life. The offset copper sheets are connected through a bent neon tube that is segmented by black stripes. The separation being clear but filled with the essence of light. The dual aspect seems shifted out vertically. Both are part of a whole Light is the union, the viewer has to follow the rhythmic order of the shining light segments and black stripes closely in order to decypher the Morse code that is embedded into this work. The code is the key to reveal the secret message this work conveys.
NoSignal
( 2019 | Colored Plexiglass Installation )
Inspired by the song ‘Toot toot ‘a Beirut’ this piece
is representing the contrasting sides of the artist’s hometown. The title deliberately evokes the sound of a car horn suggesting a fun ride through the colourful city of Beirut which is underscored by the coloured surface of the perspex. By taking a closer look, the arrangement of two round shaped mixed media compositions appear to be TV test signals repeatedly flashing the words “Toot” and “Beirut”.
Consequently, the sound of the car horn turns into a static monotonous signal that sounds endlessly: cars stuck in traffic! As if staring at a television screen, the viewer is captivated by this colourful and bizarre image. The artist puts us into a state of rigidity simultaneously reminding us of its context, as the background of the piece looks familiar too: a typical Beiruti sidewalk pavement providing a physical reference to the location of the halt. Also, hinting at an Arabic proverb ‘toot ‘aleyk’, the artist is giving a satirical comment on the disfunction of the daily life in Lebanon.
Beirut in Silence
( 2020 | video performance, music composition and a grand piano out of rubble )
The blast in Beirut’s harbor in 2020 has given his life purpose. Having experienced the blast at close range, he dealt with the event through an archival assembly of its residue. Collecting scrap materials of wood and metal and giving it an overlay of sound, light and poetry. ARTE followed Essayan and together they made the reportage “Beirut in Silence”. Having been injured by the blast, he felt the importance of sharing through his own experience. Showing the world, the tremendous impact the blast is still having on its local community.
View the Arte documentary
View the performance
Yoke
(2022 I Metal sheets & neon tubes)
With his work “yoke” he looks through the lense of the framework of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water). He reflects on the understanding of natural laws, the mathematical Universal order.
Which provides a master blueprint that diagrams how nature interacts with the body. Teaching us how the different dimensions of our Being, impact each other. Where the balancing happens between our body, mind, emotions, and spirit . Each element interacts with other elements for the creation cycle to occur. Showing the hidden interaction of the alchemy of essence within our living environment.
With the work “yoke”, Essayan is going against the disposable way of thinking. Whereas our striving for the new and future-focused innovation are the modern day’s, parameters of “success”. What if,
we already possess all the intelligence needed? We solely need to remember it by accessing our inner world through connecting with objects that can behold this moment of contemplation.
Objects have the power to unravel past memories and experiences. Our interaction with the object can be a point of release. Giving us spiritual guidance to surpass our old selves and choose who we want to be in life. Objects enable us to do so as within interaction with our human bodies we feed ourselves with this energy. Through perceiving the beauty of object, it reflects back to the beauty we can sense within and that we all possess.
The object is based upon the Shri Yantra geometry. A yantra is an instrument or tool, for meditation and contemplation and supports spiritual liberation. In 1987, Russian scientists used EEG technology to prove that the Shri Yantra geometry quickly brings viewers to a meditative state. The Yantra is viewed as a sacred object as it is “tuned to a specific vibration of energy. In Sanskrit, the word “yantra” comes from the root word “yam,” which means “instrument” or “support,” and “tra,” derived from “trana,” meaning “release from bondage.”
M for Magnanumous
( 2020 | Neon tubes, blacklight, vinyl and painted plexiglass )
Private commission
Neon-Liths
( 2019 | Neon tubes, resin, HPL, stainless steel )
Dystopias are characterised by post-apocalyptic conditions that create damaged people and distorted visions. In Essayan`s context it is a distortion his country has created over the years: corruption, sectarianism, state bankruptcy and recently a massive chemical explosion at Beirut`s port.
The neon-installations the artist calls Neon-Liths (referring to pre-historic megaliths such as Stonehenge) remind us of distorted space-time portals which –according to ancient astronaut theorists— were built to make contact with extra-terrestrial civilisations. What would extra- terrestrial beings witness if they looked through one of these Neon-portals? How can an artist provide a visual perspective to depict his reality?
