summon summarize is a curious and chaotic assemblage of artistic research into more-than-human worlds and beings by Lara Saab
dreams of fields
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weathering games
The first time I encountered it
A rock that vaguely resembles another rock
I had known before
Familiar rock type and colors
But the ocean is not the sea
When the tide is low,
the waves twirl around it slowly,
drawing me in
Over time watching,
the water movement around the rock
opened portals into other temporalities
Suddenly,
she no longer stands in solitude
From the perspective of geologic time
this rock was once attached to a shore
External forces came together as such
Eroding away small pieces
Time after time
What does time look like from the perspective of the rock?
click here for the full poem
twirling not spiraling
twirling, not spiraling is an experimental documentary research project that explores modes and methods for listening, making, and perceiving in proximity to violence and ongoing crises through mediated collaborations between video, sound, text, bodies, and space. Filmed and edited between the coasts of Beirut and Santa Cruz.
The body of work is currently composed of a video work, a text, a series of drawings, and an installation that can be activated in performantive settings. Each component feeds, contaminates, and is informed by the others.
The project was developped between 2021-22 while completing an MFA in Social Documentation at the University of California, in Santa Cruz.
click here for more about this project
washing machine temporalities
washing machine temporalities
a video work created in june 2021 before leaving Beirut, Lebanon for Santa Cruz, California to pursue my MFA after a year of Covid induced zoom classes.
Click here to view video
سردات غسالة sardet ghasseleh
a sound piece collaboration with Farah Awada, mixed and mastered by Zaki Al Hamwi, produced for compilation album as part of the launch of “a low effort quality brand” label, May 2024
click here to listen to audio
from maguey to agave
Agaves are short stemmed succulent plants with fleshy triangle shaped leaves that grow in a spiral motion around the stem and are protected by sharp teeth. Commonly referred to as the century plant, they require at least a decade to mature and flower. They only flower once in their lifetime; a stunning central stalk emerges from the stem and can reach up to 10 meters above ground. The Agave’s wide variety of uses have included cordage, nets, bags, baskets, mats, blankets, weapons, clothing and sandals, as well as in cooking, rituals, poison and medicine.
Ancient mesoamerican civilizations’ fascination with agaves extended beyond their material use to their perceived spiritual potency, related to the fermentation of their natural juices turned into pulque and personified in the deity Mayahuel, a mother figure, fertility goddess, often depicted with four hundred breasts.
Such stories have been submerged under the sails and tales of colonial expeditions. From the 16th century onwards, conquerors sent botanists and artists into colonies to observe, illustrate, and classify nature to fit narratives.
The maguey’s many lives have led me on curious exploration of uncertain and emerging futures, as well as foraging through the past, beyond popular definitions of survival that are synonymous with expansion or conquest. Documenting our interactions has become an ongoing part of my research.