At first glance, the works may appear somewhat primitivist. A closer look, however, reveals a sophisticated
interrogation of organic and mechanical worlds, where curvaceous mounds are punctuated by a regiment of pegs, or undulating bases bristle with teeth-like crags. Discursively, Choukini layers an eerie latency into his works: mazes of slits, recesses, and multi-level cavities evoke some vanished human presence on the tense horizon line; the ubiquitous “cord” is a taut yet silent marker of dormant sound. Choukini is tantalizingly dark. His is a world of brooding, empty spaces, where narratives struggle to tell themselves, and everything is in suspense.
About the Authors
Kevin Jones is an independent arts writer based in Dubai. New York-born and Paris-bred, he has lived in the Middle East for the past 13 years and is currently the UAE Desk Editor for ArtAsiaPacific. He has contributed to The Art Newspaper, Artforum.com, ArtReviewAsia and FlashArt International. Regionally, his writing has been published in Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia, Bidoun, Canvas, Brownbook and The National. He holds a BA with a double major English Literature/Journalism from Northwestern University.
Salah Stétié is a Lebanese writer and poet. In his native country, he studied at the French Protestant College of Beirut, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, and the Graduate School of Arts of Beirut, where he studied Letters and Law under the tutelage of Gabriel Bounoure, whom he considered a spiritual teacher.
About the Publisher
Founded in 2015 with the mission of promoting the talent of artists from the region, Kaph Books is a publishing house based in Beirut, Lebanon, and specialising in quality art books on Middle-Eastern artists or art practices. Each book is unique, created in collaboration with the artists and contributors with high technical and design quality.
