Now/Here at the Beirut Art Centre, Beirut December 2015

Heraclitus’ aphorism, ‘Panta Rei’ (everything flows) suggests that objects, time and value are a matter of perception. Milia Maroun explored this concept through a duo of conceptual works presented at the Beirut Art Centre. For the first piece,  Panta Rei, the designer printed a seemingly random pattern of dots on a series of her signature tank tops, then joined them together to form a canvas of sorts.

Seen alone or at close range, the dots appeared to be abstract decoration. Viewed as a piece, however, they revealed a message: the front spelled ‘EVERYWHERE’ and the back ‘NOWHERE’. As visitors purchased the tops, the message disappeared.

The second pice, Common Thread, explored transience and fluidity in a different way. A mannequin atop a table displayed a machine knit dress, while two women sat either side of it, pulling loose threads and hand knitting them into new garments.  By the end of the show, the original dress had disappeared, leaving a collection of new pieces in its place.