As cold as white stone

On display at Ayyam Gallery in Beirut, “As Cold as a White Stone” explores what Lara Zankoul describes as “the coldness, resistance, and numbness of human relationships nowadays.”

Lara Zankoul, Duality, from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016

During a recent artist residency in Italy, where she studied the local development of art, Zankoul discovered the marble quarries of Carrara through the surrealist images of Matteo Basile. In Basile’s Pietra Santa series, this stark background creates an otherworldly environment in which dystopian nightmares unfold.

Lara Zankoul Triangle from As Cold as a White Stone series 130 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper Edition of 5 2016 — **Top:** Lara Zankoul, *Duality,* from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016. **Above:** Lara Zankoul, *Triangle,* from As Cold as a White Stone series, 130 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper. Edition of 5, 2016

Drawn to the ravaged setting of the quarries, Zankoul uses the white marble backdrop to construct sparse scenes in which withdrawn figures represent “the nature of human interactions in a world dominated by individualism, virtual life, and ego/selfishness.” Her characters are anonymous, their faces mostly hidden from view as they languish in isolation or stand frozen in a state of confusion.

Lara Zankoul, Structure from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016 — Lara Zankoul, *Structure* from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016

Zankoul allows the setting to inform the mood of her characters. Sharp edges and lines that are man-made define the stone, a feature that articulates the alienation of a plugged-in society: a constructed (virtual) environment stripped of direct interaction and devoid of humanity.

Lara Zankoul, Schizophrenia from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016

Lara Zankoul, Untitled, from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016

Lara Zankoul, Made of Marble, from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016

Lara Zankoul, Untitled, from As Cold as a White Stone series, 110 x 160 cm. Photography on archival cotton paper, edition of 5, 2016

until 4 February 2017
Lara Zankoul. As Cold as White Stone
Ayyam Gallery Beirut
Zeitoune Street, Beirut, Lebanon

As cold as white stone

On display at Ayyam Gallery in Beirut, “As Cold as a White Stone” explores what Lara Zankoul describes as “the coldness, resistance, and numbness of human relationships nowadays.”

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