Khaled Sabsabi’s Between Suns exhibition opens in Fremantle
Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi is presenting the large-scale exhibition Between Suns at Vessel Contemporary gallery in Fremantle. It brings together works created between 1998 and 2026, including new and previously unexhibited pieces. The project also includes Aajyna, the artist’s first visual work, recreated specifically for the Vessel space.
As ABC News Australia reports, Lebanese coffee is one of the exhibition’s key materials and motifs. In the Aajyna installation, placed in a bunker-like structure, coffee runs down the walls and its aroma fills the space. Sabsabi noted that scents can revive memories.
Memories and coffee
The artist connects Aajyna with his childhood in Lebanon during the civil war: he recalls hiding in improvised shelters. At the same time, the work evokes memories of his mother, who, after the family moved to Western Sydney, read coffee grounds for other women. According to the artist, he is interested in how people reconstruct memory and can imperceptibly alter it.
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The original version of Aajyna was lost over time, and in 2021 the work was recreated for Campbelltown Arts Centre. Coffee is also used in the works Knowing Beyond, Between Suns C and Between Suns D. One of these works is a three-metre mural that Sabsabi created in sections at his studio in a converted garage in Western Sydney. He saw the complete canvas only after it was installed in Fremantle.
Venice Biennale and new works
The exhibition takes place after a difficult period connected with Sabsabi’s participation in the Venice Biennale. He was appointed to represent Australia, then the appointment was cancelled and later reinstated. He is now the only Australian artist and one of three artists in the event’s 131-year history whose works are presented simultaneously in the national pavilion and the Biennale’s main exhibition.
Curator Mikala Tai said that the invitation from Vessel Contemporary was important for the artist during a period of uncertainty about his professional future. After returning from Venice, Sabsabi cleaned his Sydney studio and is now working on a new ten-metre work. The Between Suns exhibition will run at Vessel Contemporary until 20 September.
