“Lützner Street 7” is a collection of paintings depicting my interpretation of various physical and emotional bonds between individuals. It is an analysis that swings between objective external observations and internal perspectives from myself, as a member of the community I live in.

After moving to Leipzig, Germany, I began to recognise different forms of community and individual relationships. Coming from Lebanon and making a fast shift to a western community was not easy. The ideologies and formalities were new. Some social aspects I had appreciated in a Middle Eastern society do not exist here. The quest for embracing change and harvesting positive characteristics of people’s connections was the captivating premise that inspired this collection.

“Lützner Street 7” is a hybrid of human touch and emotion. It is the byproduct of characteristics forming and deforming human relations. The works are an invasion on what was foreign and what is still shared. They are the translation of sentiments such as love, hope, ambition, enjoyment, unity, understanding and acceptance.

I live on “Lützner Street 7”. It is where eighteen people came together and defeating all odds, merged into one family. This exhibition is a tribute to all the good mornings and the good nights. It is a tribute to Home and all the beautiful people founding it.

“The Laundry Room” is a video installation at The MUSEUM DER BILDENDEN KÜNSTE signifying the outcome of my recent journey to discover my spiritual identity.  After three years of living in Leipzig, Germany, I started shifting and reshaping my beliefs; perhaps I saw this as a way to fit in faster. Eventually, an explosion of spiritual awakening hit me, and along with it came my creations. I became captivated by consciousness and the soul; it was stimulating for me to study my thoughts on the infinite possibilities and mystical mythologies of these notions.

“The Laundry Room” represents the traveling of my soul from one state to another carrying thoughts and experiences imprinted in my consciousness. It is a vessel holding my memories and patterns from the beginning of my being to the very endlessness. Stain-by-Stain my self and selflessness­ are created, some is washed way and others are as permanent as permanent can be.

I invite you to invade the boundless core of my existence within the restricted walls of this massive elevator! Have a nice journey!

“I End to Begin” is a series of paintings and video performances expressing Mazen Khaddaj’s latest spiritual experiences. 

After three years of living in Leipzig, Germany, he started shifting and reshaping his beliefs; perhaps he saw this as a way to fit in faster.  Eventually, an explosion of spiritual awakening hit him, and along with it came his creations. Khaddaj became captivated by consciousness and the soul; it was so interesting for him to study his thoughts on the infinite possibilities and mystical mythologies of these notions.

 The artist believes that his Druse background was a starting point for the idea and inspiration for this series. The concept of reincarnation was like a window opening new dimensions for his body, mind, and soul to travel through.

 “The Pentagon” video installation includes five video performances depicting the fight between different traditions, cultures, and religions. This is the struggle of forming an identity and a belief system that feels like him wherever he lives, whether it is in Germany or in Lebanon.

 “I End to Begin” is a quest for unanswered questions and an attempt to work through a wavering identity. One adventure after another, Khaddaj’s curiosity multiplies and possibilities arise. 

“I am a Foreigner” is a series of paintings and video performances that express my journey from Lebanon to Germany. They depict my feelings between attachment and detachment. It also portrays my disoriented emotions that sway my existence between my homeland and my new life here in Leipzig.

It is tough to “be” in a setting where I am also dissimilar. With every painting or performance, I root myself in this new soil. I want to continue here what I was before.

“I am a Foreigner” is the extensions and the delays; it is the shouts and the whispers. It is what was and what will be.

I trust my way, step by step. My faith grounds me and my hope lifts me high.

I am walking...

New forms of collectivity began to emerge as I glided through a world of dimmed colors and swaying blurry figures. each figure is a story and each gathering a statement written by multiple bodies, forming and reforming themselves singularly and in groups. i did not see any faces but i absorbed the gestures and signals that each one emitted. these collective movements and individuals expressions became the basis of my work.

The concept of these works mirrors the mixed feelings that Lebanese people have towards their recent state. It is a war between extremes. In this exhibition I showcases these extremes leaving you to figure out your own middle state and draw your own red line, and it does not have to be red!