Cactus

The works of Samah Shihadi present us with a visual statement that stands at the heart of the seminal question in the world of contemporary art. This statement arises from the branched connections between the internal place, the personal, and the obligated frozen sketch, which documents. It is a sketch that sharpens the conflict between these two opposites and defines the feelings we have when making an important decision, which move between the personal to the professional world and between the internal and social. Shihadi’s works showcase the balance of power in the family – the man and the woman – as she herself mediates between them. She invests true effort in the protracted work of sketching, giving her the opportunity and time to formulate her decisions and to connect the different elements of a willful and patriarchal society, which oppresses the individual and subjugates it to control and policing.