Mohamad Khayata
Khayata’s works are the result of ten years of displacement and deal with themes of migration, memory, and identity. His work is a tribute to displaced people whose stories are filled with effort, hope, and serene melancholy. Born in Damascus, Syria, artist Mohamad Khayata was forced to flee his home country due to political conflict, living in Beirut, Lebanon for over a decade, before returning to Syria.
Khayata’s black-and-white portraits feature women in domestic settings. The backgrounds of delicately layered dry wash elicit vulnerability and emotionality. Women in Khayata’s work wear madeh, a homemade patchwork quilt made from clothing that harkens to personal history with his mother.
Khayata has participated in an increasing number of collective exhibitions across Europe and the Middle East. Holding his BA in Fine Arts obtained at Damascus University, Khayata is a bastion of Syrian legacy, memory, home, and happiness.