Mona Gazala is an American-born artist of Palestinian descent. Her artwork is informed by a heritage rooted in places of great archaeological significance, and by a lifetime spent growing up in the post-industrial Midwest.
The artwork she construct makes lyrical connections between the decay and renewal of our post-industrial rust-belt cities and the endeavors of the archaeologist to rediscover and preserve lost beauty and lost worlds. In the process, it often elevates that which we consider blight, discarded and undesirable to something of greater significance.
While paying homage to iconic historical imagery and the vernacular of museum displays, her art is also driven by a need to address modern-day social issues. Poverty, displacement, racial and gender inequality are some of the divisive forces that bely the elemental beauty of the ruinous urban landscape.
Mona Gazala will have an exhibition at the Cultural Arts Center this January 15th-February 12th in Columbus, Ohio. It is entitled Fragmented Histories. It will use objects/artoifacts and historical tableaux to touch on displacement and marginalization issues.
