An exhibition by Mouna Rebeiz launches at Saatchi Gallery, with creations by influential figures from the worlds of culture and fashion in support of Innocence in Danger
A challenging and thought-provoking exhibition by Mouna Rebeiz, a French Lebanese artist and painter, will take place at Saatchi Gallery from 31 May – 03 June 2018.
The exhibition ‘The trash-ic. Or trash in the face of beauty’ is Rebeiz’s personal view on contemporary societal issues, examined both through the techniques of the Great Masters and applied art. It presents many contrasts, throwing up interesting questions and exploring the tension between trash and beauty, and how they coexist as one in art.
The trash-ic. Or trash in the face of beauty’ is Mouna’s second solo exhibition in London, consisting of 17 works, some of which include digital and melodic installations.
Commenting on her upcoming exhibition Rebeiz stated:
“The trash-ic.
Or trash in the face of beauty“
”HOW DO THEY COHABIT?
It’s not exactly new. Hieronymous Bosch and Goya, Balthus, and Picasso’s erotic works blazed the trail: the scandalous, the grotesque, the hardly tolerable, the violent and the beautiful coexist as one in art. Even so, here it is not about painting trash as much as it is about painting a period that is “trash”. Not provocative or scandalous for scandal’s sake, but rather an attempt to convey the movement of the times, via the movement of the paintbrush.
Creating to comprehend… creating to pierce the mystery of a world in which we can feel alien, displaced. Creating to understand the intentional refusal of the aesthetically pleasing, and decadence and obscenity raised as new norms. Creating to truthfully reflect the sad decline of the human relation. Creating to resist. To continue to be. To exist, (h)ic et nunc. Creating, that trash may also be chic.
And so it is that trash and beauty generate/nourish each other, coexisting in the face of controversy and drawing their respective matrixes from a society in search of new points of reference.
One no longer exists without the other. Without scandal, there can be no history of art… but still…”
To coincide with the exhibition and in support of Innocence in Danger, Rebeiz has asked internationally renowned designers and artists to apply their individual creative energies to produce unique and precious objects from ceramic piggy-banks. Select piggy-banks will be auctioned by Sotheby’s on the opening night. To view the silent auction online please go to www.trashicauction.co.uk
Participating Designers were Buccellati, Camila Batmanghelidjh , Catherine Walker, Chantal Thomas, Christian Lacroix, Dahouk Chamsi Basha, Ector, Elie Saab, Emilio Pucci, Esther Freud, Etro, Giles Deacon, Giuseppe Zanotti , Ilias Lalaounis, Helen McCrory, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Jimmy Choo, Sophie Fiennes, Lanvin, Maria Grachvogel, Philip Tracy, Rene Caovilla, Roger Vivier, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Sonia Rykiel, Swarovski, Stephen Jones Millinery, Stephen Webster, Zaha Hadid, Zandra Rhodes.
All proceeds from the piggy banks will go towards the charity, a world movement for the protection of children against all forms of sexual abuse. This will enable the event to reach beyond the exhibition hall into dark areas of life and bring hope.
The exhibition will be open from the 31 May – 03 June, 10am to 6pm admission is free. Select piggy banks and a complete list of participants will be available to online bidders.
MOUNA REBEIZ, ARTIST PAINTER
Even as a small child, Mouna Rebeiz’s creativity and special fervour for the plastic arts were manifested. Born into a family of artists — musicians, painters and poets — her paintings resonate with the music and verse that infused her childhood.
Fascinated by the complexities of the human psyche, Mouna studied Psychology at the Sorbonne and at Saint Joseph University. Once she completed her Master’s degree in Psychology, she started a family of her own, dividing her time between Europe and the North American continent. In 1995, she was accepted at the Atelier Cépiade in Paris, where she met Alix de la Source. A specialist of 17th and 18th-century painting, and lecturer at the Louvre, Alix introduced her to the techniques of the Great Masters and helped her evolve her personal style.
From her courses in patinas in Paris, to those on the Renaissance, from the expertise of Abraham Pincas, painter and head of the Painting and Techniques Atelier at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris to that of the great Lebanese painter, Mohamed el Rawas, her professor at the Institute of Fine Arts in Beirut, Mouna continually refined her technique, to better capture the pulse of life in her paintings.
1975 Mouna Rebeiz leaves war-torn Lebanon for Paris, where she studies Psychology at the Sorbonne
1995 She meets 17th and 18th-century painting specialist, Alix de la Source, who introduces her to the great masters of the French and Flemish schools, and to their techniques
2005 In homage to Courbet, Mouna paints the audacious Origines
2008 A first abstract work, Le Vaisseau Fantome (Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman), marks the beginning of her Operas series
2015 Le Tarbouche is Mouna’s solo show at the Saatchi Gallery, London
2016 The Artist’s appropriation of the cover of Connaissance des Arts magazine in its new format
2017 La Voie de l’Opéra (from Wagner to Vangelis) at the Galerie Pierre Alain Challier, Paris
Innocence in Danger UK is part of an international child protection organisation registered in the UK two years ago as a non for profit.
Affiliated with the international web of charities of the same name and founded in 1999 by Homayra Sellier, Innocence in Danger is now active in seven countries: France, Switzerland, Germany, Colombia, Austria, the US and the UK.
The goal of Innocence in Danger is to identify, rescue, support and accompany victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Our actions range from communication campaigns to running summer camps for victims and their families (including an art therapy program initiated by our founder since 2002) to funding research.
Our main activities in the UK:
1. Supporting the mandatory reporting of known and suspected child abuse in Regulated Activities.
2. A nationwide educational programme for parents and children about staying safe online and on all social media: tours in schools will help families, parents and teachers build protective frameworks for children online.
3. Support to a Helpline for victims of sexual abuse, staffed by a team of UK solicitors dedicated and specialized in child abuse, providing advice and guidance to victims at no charge.
4. Set up Innocence in Danger Summer camps/retreats based on the model of those set up by Mrs Sellier as of 2002, in Switzerland; Germany, Austria and Columbia. These are full scholarship retreats for the children and their guardians; attendance costs: food, lodging and transportation are covered in full by IID UK.
5. Contribute to the funding of neuroscientific and epigenetic research into to the impacts of trauma. This research will have enormous implications, for criminal justice systems around the world but most importantly will open up possibilities into healing the parts of the brain injured by childhood abuse. IID UK believe this research will be a medical and societal revolution; through which violence and abuse will be perceived differently but moreover the possibility of physical aid will become available.
We would hope you would join us and become an actor for change and hope for all survivors of sexual abuse.
Kindly,
Homayra Sellier and the Innocence in Danger UK team