Here presented a world suspended between reality and illusion —a world fragmented, crumbled, examined, and reimagined. In this world if nostalgia could be bottled, it would smell of oranges and lilies, so fleeting, and so tender, it would smell of a home held close to ones heart, so far yet so close. In Reem R's hands, fragments become artifacts, crumpled and torn but given new life, each piece a reflection of her desire to preserve what might otherwise be lost.
Reem R.'s body of work, presented in her first solo exhibition "Lilies," invites us to see fragments of a whole — pieces deconstructed and reassembled, allowing us to navigate a space where the boundaries of reality and illusion are constantly shifting. Her practice is process-driven, involving the instinctive manipulation of images. Reem first constructs the image, prints it on paper, and then manipulates the paper by tearing, crumbling, removing bits and pieces, finally to then reconstructing it again. The final work is done using oil paints employing trompe-l'œil to make the oil painting look like the torn paper itself, a cycle of creation and manipulation reminiscent of Eros and Thanatos.
Trompe-l'œil (French for "deceive the eye") is a technique used to play with depth, giving the illusion of tangible objects and prompting viewers to question the authenticity of what they see and the reality they assume. Even though the roots of trompe-l'œil can be traced all the way back to Ancient Greece and Rome—where it was used to expand the apparent architecture of a room—Reem’s use of trompe-l'œil gives a nod to the 19th century, when artists like William Harnett and John F. Peto became well-known for their highly realistic still lifes that included everyday objects arranged in ways that convinced the viewer they could reach out and touch them. Reem's use of the hyper-realistic depictions not only to showcase technical mastery, but also to add a layer of playfulness, you are almost invited to reach out and pick a piece of that paper, tricked for a moment by the deceiving textures made with strokes of oil paints.
Reem's practice focuses on nostalgia, playful trickery, and childlike purity, displaying the illusory in fragmented forms. Her process is centered on the concept of fragmentation —an instinctive, cathartic process of tearing, crumbling, and reconfiguring paper. This action becomes a powerful metaphor for the destruction and reconstruction of both self and cultural memory. This interplay between the deeply personal and the collective is reflected throughout her works, evident in her recurring imagery of oranges and lilies. These motifs in Reem R.’s work are not merely visual elements—they are fragments of her personal heritage, infused with the weight of preservation, particularly in the face of cultural erasure. These symbols speak to the intimate rituals that quietly uphold tradition: peeling fruits in a way that mirrors the care once shared by a parent, or the act of adorning one’s home with flowers that evoke the memory of a distant home. The gentleness of the painted hand gestures in her work—to hold something so close—reflects gestures of care. It is through these everyday acts—nurturing through taste, scent, and the warmth of familial ties—that the essence of culture is preserved and passed down. Reem R’s work reminds us that culture lives not only in grand gestures but also in the small, cherished moments we share with those we love.
The oranges carry subtle yet undeniable references to her homeland. The lilies, symbolize purity, innocence, modesty, and the restored innocence of the soul. Takes us to her pieces, "With my whole heart," "Get away from me," and "But these are not scribbles," oil paintings part of a larger series of work inspired by children drawings, these works depict the painful realities faced by those who have lost their childhoods to occupation and injustice. These pieces initially appear playful and innocent, but beneath this surface lies—layers of loss, grief, and injustice. Powerful in it's form and simplicity, yet there is so much delicacy and protectiveness in these works, once you explore the meaning hidden in plain sight.
When looking at Reem R's work as a whole, we are invited to observe, reflect, and rediscover the world through the fragments. "Sometimes I just see something around me, and I know—I just know that I have to paint it. I can’t explain it right then and there, but it ultimately makes sense to me." This instinctive drive, capturing the essence of her surroundings, reminds us of the power of preservation in the face of identity erasure. Her use of illusion is not just playful but a deliberate effort to peel back the constructed facades of our reality. navigating the delicate balance between creation and destruction, reality and illusion.
By Malak Elghuel
