Said Baalbaki
Unpacked
Vernissage Friday, January 17th, 6 - 10pm
Exhibition continues by appointment until February 7th
Said Baalbaki’s recurring motif of stacked suitcases poignantyl captures the profound hardship of being a refugee, highlighting the trauma and displacement endured by those raised amidst the ravages of war.
These suitcases, often depicted with bold, textured brushstrokes and a sense of chaotic urgency, symbolize the constant instability and unrelenting uncertainty that defined Baalbaki’s childhood growing up amid the horrors of Lebanon’s civil war.
For many, a suitcase is a vessel of fleeting hope—a desperate attempt to escape the destruction and find a semblance of safety. In Baalbaki’s art, the suitcases transcend personal belongings; they become emblems of the collective experience of forced migration and the emotional burden of leaving behind a broken homeland. The haphazard piles evoke not only the physical toll of displacement but also the psychological weight of a life in perpetual flux—where the need to flee, to leave, becomes an ongoing, unresolved chapter. Through this poignant imagery, Baalbaki captures the intimate yet universal struggle of survival, loss, and identity formation amidst the chaos of conflict.
