Sandra Jabbour: MFA Thesis exhibition

Sandra Jabbour's MFA Thesis exhibition "Ahsan Hdeyeh 3ana" explores themes of memory, family dynamics, multilingualism, diaspora, and Jabbour’s relationship to her Syrian and Lebanese cultures. Notably, her paintings are infused with her personal interpretations of imagery drawn from her familial archive of VHS tapes from the late 90s and early 2000s. Despite having grown up in Canada and never visiting her countries of origin, Jabbour is deeply connected to both her cultures. She speaks about her childhood being documented on VHS tapes and sent to family members abroad. This delayed communication method became a way for her family to remain connected despite geographical distance prior to social media, fostering a relationship between her and her brother and their family members abroad that they have yet to meet face-to-face. By transforming imagery from these tapes into paintings, she creates a third space between the past and the present and different geographic locations by resurrecting the family stories and memories contained in this forgotten media.