A Conversation with Artist Mohamad Hafez

The artist and architect Mohamad Hafez channels the complexities of his homeland Syria in his art. Using found objects, paint, and scrap metal, Hafez creates surrealistic, yet politically charged Middle Eastern streetscapes that incorporate the ancient and the new in a kaleidoscope of detail, color, and shapes. 
 
His art installation Eternal Cities: Excavating the Present, Unpacking the Past, on display in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia gallery, offers novel insights into the archaeological and architectural heritage of Syria and Iraq. By incorporating architectural elements and found objects, with 3D replicas of materials from Yale’s collections, Hafez vividly reveals multiple layers of history. 
 
On June 21, Hafez will come to the Peabody’s Central Gallery to share his thoughts about life, art, and food, among other topics, in a conversation with Agnete Wisti Lassen, associate curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection, who worked closely alongside the artist to realize his vision. 
 
Pistachio Cafe, Hafez’s acclaimed New Haven pair of restaurants, will offer a select menu of savory items and delicious desserts at a reception taking place after the conversation. There will also be the opportunity for intimate viewings of Eternal Cities with the artist. 

The event is sponsored by the Yale Macmillan Center’s Council on Middle East Studies.