| The work I create is an attempt to make physical manifestations of vague, ethereal, and intangible things. My installations have touched upon a range of themes and preoccupations from gossiping and telling lies to flight, falling, and absence. One of my most recent installations was entitled Small White Lies. It was formed of 77 small white cocoons constructed from binding wire, cotton thread, and silk. The cocoons were suspended from the ceiling of a small dark room, lit only by ultra violet light. | 
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Reem Acason
Reem Acason, Small White Lies. Binding wire, cotton thread, silk, ultra violet lights, ultra violet ink. Courtesy of the artist.
The work I create is an attempt to make physical manifestations of vague, ethereal, and intangible things. My installations have touched upon a range of themes and preoccupations from gossiping and telling lies to flight, falling, and absence.
One of my most recent installations was entitled Small White Lies. It was formed of 77 small white cocoons constructed from binding wire, cotton thread, and silk. The cocoons were suspended from the ceiling of a small dark room, lit only by ultra violet light. On each cocoon was written a lie in UV ink; many of the lies were donated by friends and family, though some were my own. In daylight the cocoons appeared to be innocent, benign, and beautiful; each one was handmade and unique. Under the UV light within the exhibition space, however, the cocoons took on a darker manifestation. In these conditions, the cocoons became almost transparent, except for the threads which bound and suspended them, and the words of the lies which they possessed. The lies written across their skins were familiar yet fragmented, some illegible and some out of reach. The room looked like a hatchery for insects or aliens, disorientating and delusive. Small White Lies represented a dark and uncomfortable reminder that we are seldom in possession of the whole truth.
The materials I use in my installations are carefully chosen to relate to the theme to which they refer. They are often unorthodox and untraditional. In another recent installation entitled Virus, I primarily used office stationary, the materials of communication, to create the work. Virus was an attempt to objectify the regurgitation of a tale, the way it becomes dislocated from the truth and corrupted in meaning, spreading from one point to another like a virus, mutating as it goes.
Virus was made up of nine pounds of rubber bands bound repetitively over each other to create 30 balls. They were stretched and contorted and possessed an intense potential energy, like tiny time bombs waiting to unravel or explode. Each rubber band ball carried handwritten words on tiny labels from a series of sentences closely related to the theme of the piece. The rubber band balls were suspended from the ceiling and linked together with fibrous yarn creating a complex organic web. By reading the words on the labels in the correct order it would be theoretically possible for the viewer to decipher the contents of each sentence, to break the code and uncover the truth, though this would take patience and perseverance. In reality, confused and conflicting narratives appeared.
Although my work has a very clear message and specific representation to me, I try to create an atmosphere where viewers can use their own thoughts, history, and assumptions to approach the work. Installation provides viewers with the fantastic opportunity to be utterly absorbed into an artwork. In my installations I try to create a quiet and entrancing environment where viewers can create their own personal and contemplative narrative.
