Yazigi’s black and white phase represents a difficult period in his life; the present work was developed during this dark chapter. The monochrome polyptych features 25 panels of acrylic and ink illustrations. His pensive illustrations depict half-human creatures that appear to be naively smiling. His oeuvre often documents the mental illnesses or physical flaws of ordinary people, enigmatically portrayed through his unique stylization. 

Fadi Yazigi (Syrian, b. 1976)  is a renowned and well-collected sculptor and painter. His work conveys human emotion, revolving around the characters he meets in daily life. The artist possesses a nostalgic sensibility towards the indi­vid­uals that he encoun­ters and works to portray them candidly. Speaking about his own practice, the artist says: “My works are a nos­talgic chron­icle of rela­tion­ships; the source of my stim­u­la­tion is all that sur­rounds me and all those who have left an indelible mark on my life.” A strong feature of his artistic practice is his ongoing experimentation with new materials and techniques which has allowed him to con­tin­u­ously increase the range of his oeuvre. For example, he often incorporates unorthodox approaches, such as painting directly on newspaper or furniture.

Yazigi obtained a BFA in sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 1988. Since then, he has been a pro­lific artist working with extreme discipline. He was greatly inspired by his invitation from the Delfina Foundation in 2007 to be the Middle East Representative as an artist-in-residence in London. His artworks are housed in public collections including the Delfina Foundation (London), A.M. Qattan Foundation (London), Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (UAE), and Kaleemat Foundation (Istanbul). His notable solo exhibitions include Art Paris Art Fair (Paris 2016), Galerie Tanit (Beirut 2015), The Mosaic Rooms (London 2011). He also participated in the Sharjah Biennale (1999).