born in Kafr Nahf, 1985, lives and works in Haifa

In the carpet he created, Kaiss combines screws and matches - which are usually practical objects - with a decorative motif. We are conditioned to think of a carpet as an object whose softness is an inseparable part of its essence. This conditioning dissipates in light of the dissonance between the object (carpet) and the materials that compose it (match, screw). What is supposed to be home-like, pleasant and inviting generates a sense of danger and potential of pain; despite its beauty, the carpet is stripped of its usefulness. The matches and screws that compose it transform the carpet into a flashing warning sign, into a fakir's mat that is liable to hurt and even burst into flame. The work focuses on building and dismantling, and undermines the readymade conventions of a carpet and of a home as sites of quiet and tranquility. The tension between aesthetic values and personal, cultural and collective narrative stands out in the works of Mahmood Kaiss, as well as the tension between handmade, laborious work and industrialization, technology and globalization.

The work is sponsored by
Gafrurei Dafdefet
dafdefet.com