Effigies is a haunting collection of two bodies of work by Syrian artist Lawand and British poet Pascale Petit. Though the two had never met nor previously known anything about each other’s work, Petit was invited to respond in poetry to a large series of new drawings made by the artist, Lawand in Beirut. Over a few weeks in the summer of 2013, Petit selected the drawings that moved or interested her most and proceeded to write her highly imaginative response to the artist s work. The resulting work is a deeply moving collection and a collaboration which was described as a meeting of the souls. It features fifteen unique drawings and fifteen poetic responses.
About the Contributors
Pascale Petit was born in Paris, grew up in Wales and France, and now lives in Cornwall. She is of French/Welsh/Indian heritage. She graduated from the Royal College of Art and spent the first part of her life as a sculptor before concentrating on poetry. She has published numerous poetry collections, three of which have been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. She has been Poetry Editor of Poetry London and was a founding tutor of The Poetry School.
Lawand was Born in Aleppo Syria, in 1984. He is a contemporary artist whose paintings are often inspired by poems, and has created art books collaborating directly with renowned poets including Adonis, Bernard Noël, Antoine Emaz, Jean-Claude Schneider.
He came to France with his family when he was ten. He has exhibited widely throughout Europe, as well as in Egypt in 2006 and Syria 2007. Recent solo exhibitions have been held in Schwab Beauborg Gallery, Paris; Art Escape 83, La Rochelle; Bourreau Ravier Gallery, Noirmoutier; Raffaella De Chirico Gallery, Turin, and Jacques Levy Gallery, Paris.
About the Publishers
The Mosaic Rooms are a London-based non-profit cultural organisation dedicated to supporting and promoting comtemporary culture from and about the Arab world through contemporary art exhibitions, multidisciplinary events, artist residencies and learning and engagement programme.
The A.M. Qattan Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation founded in 1993 and registered in the UK as a charity. Its principle remit is the support of culture and education in and about Palestine and the Arab World.
