the welling up which would not pass

In his upcoming exhibition the welling up which would not pass Montreal-based artist Nabil Azab aims to dismantle the assumption that photography is an objective and instantaneous medium. With a new body of work initiated by—but not limited to—a recent series of large-scale abstract images, the welling up which would not pass troubles the understanding of images as stable depictions of the past by proposing a temporality uniquely their own.

Distorted compositions bathed in glowing pools of colour, Azab’s images swell with emotion while managing to evade a singular meaning. Akin to how a vivid dream may seep through the subconscious to haunt a day’s waking hours, his images linger, obtaining a sense of universality through their ambiguity. Rather than depicting discrete fragments of a known past, their softened contours become a host for the affective frequencies resonant in their initial capture by permitting them to build up and overflow into the present. - Danica Pinteric, author

Nabil Azab expose «the welling up which would not pass» à la Galerie DRAC, Qui fait quoi, (2022). [online].

Hélène Caroline Fournier, (2022) Une première exposition solo en contexte institutionnel de Nabil Azab, HEART – Au coeur de l’art. [online].

Éric Côté, (2022). L’artiste Nabil Azab présente l’exposition – the welling up wich would not pass – à la Galerie DRAC, Arts et culture. [online].

Éric Beaupré, (2022). Une première exposition solo en contexte institutionnel de Nabil Azab, une exposition à découvrir dès le 22 janvier, Vingt55. [online].