This is the piece titled ‘La Chaleur de l’Amour & la Beaute des Paroles’ or ‘Warmth of Love & the Beauty of Words’ by Jad K. Melki. It is a 90x180x50 cm object expressing the text found in letters written by the artist’s mother to his father while she was in Sierra Leon and he at the American University of Beirut during 1974.
Courtesy Of Jad K. Melki
The artist tries to draw out how the letters gave presence, replacing absence, when his father read them every night. He uses a mattress which had been broken-down, yet not destroyed, and lit with fluorescent lights. The wire of the springs has been partially commandeered to form letters and words, which say ‘De l’après-midi j’ai besoin de ta présence. j’ai besoin de toi et de tes paroles pour me réconforter. j’ai besoin de sentir la chaleur de ton amour et la beaute de tes parole’ or in english ‘In the afternoon I need your presence. In need your words to relief me. I need to feel the warmth of your love and the beauty of your words’.
Courtesy Of Jad K. Melki
Matt Davis
