[dropcap style=”font-size:100px;color:#992211;”]T[/dropcap]he Ismaili Centre, in partnership with the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, announce Seeing Through Babel, a solo exhibition by the Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad.
In the Old Testament story of Babel, mankind is punished for attempting to construct a tower to heaven, an act of hubris that led God to create multiple languages so as to prevent such collusions happening again. For this exhibition, Mourad explores the story of Babel, using visual imagery as a means to connect people across the language divide.
Making artworks in public is an integral part of Mourad’s practice, and it is his hope that many people will visit the gallery as he creates his six-metre hanging sculpture, Seeing Through Babel, between now and 30 June. Mourad will also hold talks at 11.30 and at 14.30 every day during this period. The work, which uses the artist’s trademark techniques — monotypes and drawing onto the surface of the work — is designed to allow visitors to walk in and around it, allowing closer consideration of its themes.
Says Mourad: “I have often thought of this story, as it is said to be a moment that divided mankind. I see it as a moment when diversity was created.” Describing his work, he points to how, through visual language, “it can connect people who speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds. Where Babel separated, visual art connects.”
Seeing Through Babel runs at The Ismaili Centre’s Zamana Space from 1 July
Naila Scargill is the publisher and editor of horror journal Exquisite Terror. Holding a broad editorial background, she has worked with an eclectic variety of content, ranging from film and the counterculture, to political news and finance.
