TO BE OR NOT TO BE
MaterialRusted Steel, Painted Stainless Steel or Stainless Steel
The existential enquiry into being has persistently haunted Karam’s mindscape and permeated his body of work. Visually articulated through various mediums and modes of expression, it has underpinned all the major themes he has explored, such as conflicts, migration, intense emotions and ultimately the paradox of life versus death.
Drawing from his experience of life in a region where the specter of war is ever-present, Karam explores existentialism through his distinctive brand of humanism intertwined with absurdity. In To Be or Not to Be, the dynamics of exchange of the self with the ‘other’ are explored as a means to confront our deepest questions and most intimate fears.
Developed from a selection of his sketches drawn over the years, Karam’s manipulation of the raw, rusted steel imparts a sense of fragility to the works that challenges their imposing presence. The bases of the sculptures are composed of fragments of steel remaining from the fabrication process, prompting us to confront a reality that often feels disjointed and fragmented, but from which we can construct meanings.
