“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!