To pine is to lose vigor or health because of grief. There is a misconception that emotional distress is less than the physical. It’s categorized as hysterics or a phase of sadness that should be hurried into passing. It’s often we stop appreciating what’s arbitrary in favour of the material. However, grief can cut the body the same way hunger does. It can make the body twist and contort, fail to function and deteriorate. It’s not uncommon to look at someone and recognize pain on their face, but it’s not always treated with the same kindness and understanding as hunger.
I was drawn to the parallel between pain and hunger because halfway between those two things lies pining, which is the subject – and title – of this work. It’s a burden that comes with the overwhelming need to satiate. This work is a collection of hand-pulled linoprints on paper, some of which are embroidered on, and bundles of yarn that spill onto the floor. The work is laid out as a diary where the prints attempt to visualize the emotional turmoil of want vs need, while the yarn unapologetically explodes forwards. Everytime the installation is set up, I like to choose a different part of the paper to mark with the nails as evidence of the meeting of this work with the public.
This installation was exhibited at “Next” curated by Kevin Krapft at the AUC’s Falaki Art Gallery in 2023, Tam Gallery in Cairo in 2020, and the 30th edition of the Youth Salon in Cairo in 2019.
Detail: Rawan Abbas, 2023, Pine, mixed media installation, “Next” exhibition at Falaki Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
Installation at Tam Gallery in 2020
Artist | Rawan Abbas 