Maria Saleh Mahameed - Peace of Mind

'Peace Of Mind' is a new book by Maria Saleh Mahameed (b. 1990, Umm el Fahem) which presents a body of work created during the months of war. The daughter of a Ukrainian mother and an Palestinian father, Saleh Mahameed often explores her complex identity, reflecting a charged, tangled political and social reality. Her monumental charcoal-on-canvas painting installations are rich in drama and veiled in mystery. They are underpinned by an intuitive, physical approach, incorporating movement, kneeling, and wallowing in the painterly surface. As part of her artistic ritual, she lays the canvas on the floor and works within it with bare hands and feet, leaving imprints where they touch the surface, while her eyes observe the unfolding occurrence from above. The painting's timeless space echoes the present through images that attest to an aggression-laden, violent reality, such as surveillance cameras, medical devices, bulldozers, and weapons. The exhibition's title, Peace of Mind (Rahat al-Ruh in Arabic), expresses the spiritual aspiration for inner peace and reconciliation set against the existential struggle.