Contemporary Labyrinths

The act of sketching for Karam is a lifelong, almost instinctive practice; not only a tool to express/approach the self and the other, but also to comprehend and configure a relation to personal and external realities. Karam’s work on paper is thus the foundation from which his paintings, sculptures and public art emerge and expand.
‘’For me, says Karam, the creative process is basically a manifestation of the inquisitive mind and human condition through stories, memories and identities, starting always with the stroke of a pencil. Although constantly in doubt, I have the certainty that it is about creating, not destroying. Sometimes, it feels like we are working against the tide, but it just needs persistence; this optimistic act of sketching.’’

Amongst the concepts that Karam has investigated, the notions of “architecture of performance” and “story-telling architecture” tackle the universality of the human struggle in relation to our understanding of space.

These notions permeate his work across different media and are directly manifested within the idea of Contemporary Labyrinths, which invite us to re-think our interaction with physical and mental spaces. In Karam’s approach, a labyrinth reflects our globalized world, and we are required to explore diverse creative processes to understand multifaceted contemporary realities. Contemporary Labyrinths thus belong to mindscapes as well as landscapes; they are spaces to be thought as well as walked.