In his previous series Stretching Thoughts, and Neglected Thoughts, Nadim Karam has explored the infinite possibilities and abandoned potential of creative thoughts through abstract sculptures. The well-known Lebanese artist and architect continues this exploration in his latest body of work, Compressed Thoughts by experimenting with the idea of condensing far reaching thoughts into a palpable essence.
Once again, Karam has used recycled steel rods from destroyed buildings in Beirut to create his sculptures, which feature a tangle of rods compressed inside enclosed spaces. The compressed rods represent the creative mind as an extreme condensation of energy within a restricted space, and their configuration is different in each work. Through these works the artist questions the place of thoughts in space and time, examining the concept of pure thought, the form in which it resides, and the possibility of accessing it.
“I often wonder if countless strands of human thoughts could become infinitely condensed into a block of compressed matter, how would this intense zone of thought exist and whether it is possible to distill the essence of pure thought. I have tried to express this through my sculptures that are about silent energy and a hive of continuous internal agitation with explosive power,” Karam says.
Compressed Thoughts will run at Ayyam Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz until January 6, 2018.
