Adnan Charara: Letters Home
May 4—July 19, 2008
Born in Lebanon and raised in Sierra Leone, Adnan Charara moved to the United States at the age of nineteen to study architecture, the first person in his family to immigrate here. Now a resident of Michigan, he draws on his life as an Arab American to tell the story of the immigrant experience. With no formal background in art, he creates playful narratives, using a variety of media.
Working in ink and watercolor on vintage paper envelopes, Charara develops colorful worlds inhabited by busy characters who scurry around stamped and postmarked cityscapes on the paper surfaces. Charara uses the well-traveled, well-worn letter as a metaphor for immigration and the hope that drives immigrants to travel long distances under harsh conditions for opportunities awaiting them in their new homelands. He shares his stories about complex social issues with a lighthearted and thoughtful tone, allowing us to laugh about the absurd scenarios he creates for his characters while empathizing with their situation.
Charara also expresses his affinity for discarded and well-worn tools through his found object works. These sculptures are made from bent hammers, old protractors and rulers, brushes and palette knives—all former tools of tradesmen. Charara alters and adds to the tools to create new characters that take on emotions; perhaps those of workers who might have once used them. This collection of two- and three-dimensional work lovingly illustrates the determination, anxiety, adaptability, and hopefulness that can be associated with the immigrant experience.
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