L’Abécédaire is both an exhibition and a book by Lebanese artist duo, mother and son Laure Ghorayeb and Mazen Kerbaj
This new instalment in the duo's unique 4 hands body of work follows the concept of an artist's alphabet. It presents 26 drawings on various themes, from the very personal to the universal, and explores a little bit more the possibilities of a double-autobiography that is present in all of their works.
The process began with each of the artists selecting 13 letters and corresponding words. Over the course of several months, each drawing was passed under the hands of the two artists, each adding to the other, sometimes responding, often provoking, and always creating an element of surprise for themselves and for the viewer.
Laure Ghorayeb was born in 1931.
In 1975 she gave birth to Mazen Kerbaj.
Since 2006, they draw together.
Publisher: Headache Comics
Size: 27 x 37 cm
Language: French and Arabic
Number of pages: 56
Printing method: offset printing
Cover: two colours
Inside: black and white
ORDER THIS BOOK HERE
Perhaps even Freud falls short of explaining the complex relationship between mother and son. Whatever one might read into their witty collaboration, aesthetically speaking, Ghorayeb and Kerbaj are artists first.
[The Daily Star – Matern Boeselager]
How do you create a two-man autobiography? Do you reveal only the moments shared in common? Do you bring together all the richness of two lifetimes, the incomparable perspectives of two people, and offer them up as one? In “L’Abecedaire” (Primer), artists Laure Ghorayeb and Mazen Kerbaj are exhibiting an alphabetized series of 26 collaborative black-and-white drawings that aim to explore the possibilities of a dual autobiography. Each piece was worked on by both artists, their distinct but harmonious styles blending together to create a uniform aesthetic that runs throughout the series.
Combining a sardonic, twisted sense of humor with an experimental artistic approach, “L’Abecedaire” is many things, but above all it’s a lot of fun.
[The Daily Star – India Stoughton]
Ils forment le tandem le plus émouvant de la scène artistique libanaise. Le plus improbable et le plus naturel aussi. Laure Ghorayeb, la mère, 83ans, et Mazen Kerbaj, le fils, 39 ans. Aussi différents physiquement que le jour et la nuit. Elle : petite, extravertie, solaire, bouille ronde et crinière de lionne ébouriffée. Lui : grand, maigre, sombre, yeux noirs, cheveux noirs, barbe noire. Mais en commun, un même tempérament de feu qui les pousse à s’affronter, se mesurer, se défier... à travers, notamment, leur passion commune pour le trait graphique.
[L’Orient-Le Jour – Zena Zalzal]
إنّها لعبة غريبة بين الابن وأمّه. لعبة ارتجال، كما في المسرح والموسيقى، لعبة بهلوانيّة خطرة بلا شبكة نجاة
[Al Akhbar – Pierre Abi Saab]
وعندما ترى اعمال مازن ولور الفردية ترى الاختلاف بينهما كبيراً، ولكن إذا دققت في اعمالهما المشتركة تشعر بانهما باتا فعلا شخصا واحدا
[Annahar – Jana Nasrallah]
تعاون مثمر بين كائنَين يفصل بينهما أمد زمني من حيث السن، ذكره الأم والابن في أحد الأعمال، وكأنهما شاءا أن يبيّنا أن سنوات العمر المتباينة العائدة لكلٍّ منهما، تجمعهما معاً في عالم التشكيل، وربما في عوالم أخرى لا نعرفها
[Annahar – Mohammad Charaf]
Download folder with selected articles about L'Abécédaire