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Home Land Security

Tammam Azzam

Three works from the Storeys series

Though widely known for the digital art he created after losing his studio and fleeing Syria, Tammam Azzam originally trained as a painter in Damascus. Now based in the United Arab Emirates, he returns to his roots for a series of paintings that convey the magnitude of devastation in his homeland. He bases his paintings on news photographs of Syrian cities but eliminates visual clues that might identify their locations and restrict the works’ impact. The resulting images could depict any world city in the aftermath of war; installing them in a former military command building underscores the human cost of weaponry. The viewer stands at the beginning of a refugee’s road: no fixed destination and countless obstacles. Azzam describes the process of creating his paintings as a physical and emotional struggle. “Bullets are more powerful than art now,” he says, but he believes art can help rebuild the future.

  • Untitled 1−3, 2016, from the Storeys series; acrylic on canvas; courtesy the artist and Ayyam Gallery, Dubai; © Tammam Azzam; photo: Robert Divers Herrick
    Untitled, 2016, from the Storeys series; acrylic on canvas; courtesy the artist and Ayyam Gallery, Dubai; © Tammam Azzam; photo: Robert Divers Herrick
    Untitled, 2016, from the Storeys series; acrylic on canvas; courtesy the artist and Ayyam Gallery, Dubai; © Tammam Azzam; photo: Robert Divers Herrick
    Untitled, 2016, from the Storeys series; acrylic on canvas; courtesy the artist and Ayyam Gallery, Dubai; © Tammam Azzam; photo: Robert Divers Herrick
    Installation Views
Tammam AzzamSyrian, born 1980

Tammam Azzam works deftly in a broad array of media, from painting and printmaking to digital photography and street art. Based in Dubai, he has participated in exhibitions and biennials around the world, and received international attention for his viral Freedom Graffiti, part of a series of photographs recasting Western masterworks amid Syrian ruins.

Untitled (installation view), 2016, from the Storeys series; acrylic on canvas; courtesy the artist and Ayyam Gallery, Dubai; photo: Robert Herrick

Projects

  • Overview
  • On View
  • Past
    • Lands End
    • Sanctuary
    • Home Land Security
      • Shiva Ahmadi
      • Tammam Azzam
      • Tirtzah Bassel
      • Díaz Lewis
      • Yashar Azar Emdadian
      • Al Farrow
      • Liza Lou
      • Mandana Moghaddam
      • Trevor Paglen
      • Shahpour Pouyan
      • Michele Pred
      • The Propeller Group
      • Luz María Sánchez
      • Do Ho Suh
      • Bill Viola
      • Alexia Webster
      • Krzysztof Wodiczko
      • Yin Xiuzhen
    • @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
    • Art About Place: FOR-SITE Foundation at the Presidio
    • International Orange
    • Presidio Habitats
    • The Marvelous Museum: A Mark Dion Project
    • Pae White: In Between the Outside-In
    • Chris Drury: Mushrooms | Clouds
    • Shi Guorui: Reproduction and Refashioning
    • Richard Long: The Path Is the Place Is the Line
    • New Work by Cornelia Parker
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Occupying a suite of former military structures in the Presidio overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Home Land Security (2016) brought together works by contemporary artists and collectives from around the globe to reflect on the human dimensions and increasing complexity of national security, including the physical and psychological borders we create, protect, and cross in its name. 

The exhibition extended FOR-SITE’s focus on provocative art about place, inviting viewers into decommissioned batteries, an administrative building, and a chapel — some open to the public for the first time — that served for decades as key sites in the US Army’s Coastal Defense System. #ArtAboutPlace

Image: DÍAZ LEWIS, 34,000 PILLOWS, 2016–ONGOING (VIEW FROM OUTSIDE BATTERY BOUTELLE); USED AND DONATED CLOTHING AND KAPOK FIBER FILLING; COURTESY THE ARTISTS AND ASPECT/RATIO, CHICAGO; © DÍAZ LEWIS; PHOTO: ROBERT DIVERS HERRICK
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Occupying a suite of former military structures in the Presidio overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Home Land Security (2016) brought together works by contemporary artists and collectives from around the globe to reflect on the human dimensions and increasing complexity of national security, including the physical and psychological borders we create, protect, and cross in its name.  The exhibition extended FOR-SITE’s focus on provocative art about place, inviting viewers into decommissioned batteries, an administrative building, and a chapel — some open to the public for the first time — that served for decades as key sites in the US Army’s Coastal Defense System. #ArtAboutPlace Image: DÍAZ LEWIS, 34,000 PILLOWS, 2016–ONGOING (VIEW FROM OUTSIDE BATTERY BOUTELLE); USED AND DONATED CLOTHING AND KAPOK FIBER FILLING; COURTESY THE ARTISTS AND ASPECT/RATIO, CHICAGO; © DÍAZ LEWIS; PHOTO: ROBERT DIVERS HERRICK
1 day ago
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1/9
@anateresafernandez’s Sanctuary rug design, titled Erasure, showcases a work from a series of the same name for which the artist documented a performance of erasure: painting her body black with thick acrylic paint in front of a black background. The resulting video and suite of signature large-scale, hyperrealist paintings leave only glimpses of color—in this case, a searing pair of eyes. Fernández performed this act of removal and mourning in response to the 2014 disappearance and presumed murder of forty-three young male student-activists in Ayotzinapa, Mexico. For the artist, this unconscionable act raises critical questions: “Whose life can be erased so quickly? Why are some sectors of our community treated in such a disposable way? What do we need to do as a society to be seen and treated equally, like valued human beings?”

In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
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@anateresafernandez’s Sanctuary rug design, titled Erasure, showcases a work from a series of the same name for which the artist documented a performance of erasure: painting her body black with thick acrylic paint in front of a black background. The resulting video and suite of signature large-scale, hyperrealist paintings leave only glimpses of color—in this case, a searing pair of eyes. Fernández performed this act of removal and mourning in response to the 2014 disappearance and presumed murder of forty-three young male student-activists in Ayotzinapa, Mexico. For the artist, this unconscionable act raises critical questions: “Whose life can be erased so quickly? Why are some sectors of our community treated in such a disposable way? What do we need to do as a society to be seen and treated equally, like valued human beings?” In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
3 days ago
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2/9
Titled Here we die, @mpane.aime’s design for Sanctuary was based on one of his carved plywood portraits from a series of the same name. He creates these portraits with an ancient tool called an adze, which allows him to scrape away layers of wood and reveal his subject by reduction. Each panel is roughly twelve by twelve inches: the equivalent of a human head’s surface area. “Because my work deals with problems of race and the stereotypes of black people, the three layers within four-millimeter-thick plywood make me think of the three layers within human skin,” he explains. Despite the dark histories underlying his work, Mpane’s portraits are not somber: his embrace of bright color lends an air of inextinguishable hope and promise.

In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
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Titled Here we die, @mpane.aime’s design for Sanctuary was based on one of his carved plywood portraits from a series of the same name. He creates these portraits with an ancient tool called an adze, which allows him to scrape away layers of wood and reveal his subject by reduction. Each panel is roughly twelve by twelve inches: the equivalent of a human head’s surface area. “Because my work deals with problems of race and the stereotypes of black people, the three layers within four-millimeter-thick plywood make me think of the three layers within human skin,” he explains. Despite the dark histories underlying his work, Mpane’s portraits are not somber: his embrace of bright color lends an air of inextinguishable hope and promise. In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
6 days ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
@hankwillisthomas Sanctuary contribution, titled Keep the Faith Baby, comes from a series invoking buttons and slogans from political campaigns and social movements from the last 50 years, removing them from their original context to allow audiences to reinterpret the messaging through a contemporary lens. Thomas remembers encountering a button bearing this particular wording as a child. The phrase, used by New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, originally served to communicate the hope and profound faith that fueled the American civil rights movement. “It may sound trite, but commercialism is the new religion. We are all believers. Even the most radical of us,” Thomas has said. “It’s not propaganda anymore.”

The notion of sanctuary—both physical and psychological—has been fundamental in shaping a sense of selfhood and social identity throughout human history. But in an era of increasing global migration and rising nationalism, the right to safe haven is under threat, and the necessity for compassion is greater than ever. Seeking to address these issues and ideas, In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
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@hankwillisthomas Sanctuary contribution, titled Keep the Faith Baby, comes from a series invoking buttons and slogans from political campaigns and social movements from the last 50 years, removing them from their original context to allow audiences to reinterpret the messaging through a contemporary lens. Thomas remembers encountering a button bearing this particular wording as a child. The phrase, used by New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, originally served to communicate the hope and profound faith that fueled the American civil rights movement. “It may sound trite, but commercialism is the new religion. We are all believers. Even the most radical of us,” Thomas has said. “It’s not propaganda anymore.” The notion of sanctuary—both physical and psychological—has been fundamental in shaping a sense of selfhood and social identity throughout human history. But in an era of increasing global migration and rising nationalism, the right to safe haven is under threat, and the necessity for compassion is greater than ever. Seeking to address these issues and ideas, In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
1 week ago
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4/9
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
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Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
2 weeks ago
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5/9
Susanne Cockrell’s (@aradicalstitch ), Indwelling invited students to move their toolkits, studio, and lens of production to the Sierra Nevada and work through their own experiences of being on the land. Through guided walks, and meetings with local artists, community groups, herbalists and trackers students focused on understanding the complex relationships between their art practices and a sense of indwelling.

Since 2003, FOR-SITE’s education program has enriched the experience of graduate-level art students with learning opportunities that extend beyond the traditional academic curriculum.

Image: Susanne Cockrell’s, Indwelling, 2016, California College of the Arts
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Susanne Cockrell’s (@aradicalstitch ), Indwelling invited students to move their toolkits, studio, and lens of production to the Sierra Nevada and work through their own experiences of being on the land. Through guided walks, and meetings with local artists, community groups, herbalists and trackers students focused on understanding the complex relationships between their art practices and a sense of indwelling. Since 2003, FOR-SITE’s education program has enriched the experience of graduate-level art students with learning opportunities that extend beyond the traditional academic curriculum. Image: Susanne Cockrell’s, Indwelling, 2016, California College of the Arts
3 weeks ago
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6/9
Established in 2003, the FOR-SITE Foundation is dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. Our exhibitions and commissions artist residencies, and education programs are based in the belief that art can inspire fresh thinking and important dialogue about our natural and cultural environment.

Image: Artist Chris Drury at work
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Established in 2003, the FOR-SITE Foundation is dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. Our exhibitions and commissions artist residencies, and education programs are based in the belief that art can inspire fresh thinking and important dialogue about our natural and cultural environment. Image: Artist Chris Drury at work
3 weeks ago
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7/9
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
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Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
3 weeks ago
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8/9
In honor of #Earthday we want to acknowledge that the former Cliff House and the Lands End exhibition were sited on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Yelamu, a local tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples and the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula.

While we appreciate the beauty of the Golden Gate National Park, we must acknowledge that Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization
displaced and eradicated Native peoples across California, including the Yelamu beginning in the 18th Century. We offer respect to
the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramaytush Community and affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples.

We recognize the Ramaytush Ohlone's enduring commitment to steward the Earth. Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in how
we care for the lands, waters, and all the people must inspire our actions to achieve a truly ecologically sustainable future for San Francisco and our planet.

#LandsEnd featured works by a group of artists from around the world that strived to remind viewers of our interconnectedness via global currents of water and air, and to encourage visitors  to partake in all the fresh ideas and perspectives that emerge from the rising tides as we head deeper into this tumultuous century. The exhibition featured works by @suzannehusky  @brianjungen @catriona.jeffries @andreachungstudio 
@tylerpark_presents 
@angelo.filomeno  @galerielelong 
@project88mumbai 
@chester_arnold_painter 
@cclarkgallery @gerada_art @anateresafernandez 
@cclarkgallery @danielbeltraphoto @edelmangallery 
@adam5100 @dougaitkenworkshop 
@studioolafureliasson 
@mcevoyarts @elizabethellenwood 
@maja_petric 
@winstonwachter @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen 
@mcevoyarts @gulnurozdaglar @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen #williamtwiley #DougAitken #tuulanarhinen 
#andygoldsworthy #onebeachplastic #shumonahmed
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In honor of #Earthday we want to acknowledge that the former Cliff House and the Lands End exhibition were sited on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Yelamu, a local tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples and the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. While we appreciate the beauty of the Golden Gate National Park, we must acknowledge that Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization displaced and eradicated Native peoples across California, including the Yelamu beginning in the 18th Century. We offer respect to the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramaytush Community and affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples. We recognize the Ramaytush Ohlone's enduring commitment to steward the Earth. Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in how we care for the lands, waters, and all the people must inspire our actions to achieve a truly ecologically sustainable future for San Francisco and our planet. #LandsEnd featured works by a group of artists from around the world that strived to remind viewers of our interconnectedness via global currents of water and air, and to encourage visitors to partake in all the fresh ideas and perspectives that emerge from the rising tides as we head deeper into this tumultuous century. The exhibition featured works by @suzannehusky  @brianjungen @catriona.jeffries @andreachungstudio @tylerpark_presents @angelo.filomeno  @galerielelong @project88mumbai @chester_arnold_painter @cclarkgallery @gerada_art @anateresafernandez @cclarkgallery @danielbeltraphoto @edelmangallery @adam5100 @dougaitkenworkshop @studioolafureliasson @mcevoyarts @elizabethellenwood @maja_petric @winstonwachter @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen @mcevoyarts @gulnurozdaglar @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen #williamtwiley #DougAitken #tuulanarhinen #andygoldsworthy #onebeachplastic #shumonahmed
4 weeks ago
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9/9

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