Shawki Youssef

Shawki Youssef (b. 1973) is a multi-disciplinary artist and tutor who was born in Beirut. He gained a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Lebanese University in 1994 and, 13 years later, completed his MSc. in intercultural mediation at St Joseph’s University. 

Youssef’s art spans several mediums, ranging from painting, drawing and text to video, performance and installations.

In his work, Youssef explores contemporary society and the repercussions of its actions on humanity, especially emotional trauma. The subject he often chooses as the vehicle for sharing his reflections is the human body, portrayed in anonymous representations, sometimes in the form of distorted limbs and other times, anatomical parts. 

Fragmented, damaged, tormented or in decay, these body parts or dislocated figures epitomise the collective human struggle, particularly those resonating with the artist, which span conflict, destruction, oppression, poverty and broader humanitarian disaster.

 His subjects are given delicate outlines, while white or light, almost transparent shades, contrast with sudden additions of dark colour on a textured surface, reminding us of humanity’s fragility and transience. “My work is based on the proposition that trauma is here, visible or not,” the artist said in an interview with Time Out Dubai. “My work depicts the Arab body that lives under pressure and is on the brink of setting itself on fire.”

Youssef’s work has featured in several solo shows, including: ‘Extimacy’, Beirut Contemporary, Lisbon (2021); ‘Tracés 1994-2021’, Agence 360, Paris (2021); ‘9 Mornings and 13 Goodnights’, Agial Gallery, Beirut (2019); ‘Acid Fields’, Green Art Gallery, Dubai (2013); ‘Fluid Being’, Green Art Gallery (2011); and ‘Hollow Flesh’, Agial Art Gallery, Beirut (2011); ‘Construct Lebanon’, LAA Gallery, New Media Art Show, Web Game (2008); and ‘Skin Side’, interactive installation, The Crypt, St Joseph’s Church, Beirut (2007).

His work has also featured in several collective shows, including: ‘Drawings Collective’, Gallerie Bessières, Chatou, France (2021); ‘On Borders’, Gallerie Yellow Cube, Paris (2021); ‘Collective Drawings’, Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut (2018); ‘Collective’, Tanit Art Gallery, Beirut (2014); ‘My Last Century Remains’, Al Markhiya Gallery, Doha (2014); ‘Le Corps Decouvert’, the Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris (2012); and ‘Rebirth: Lebanon 21st Century Contemporary Art’, Beirut Exhibition Centre, Beirut (2011); ‘Three’, Art Lounge, Beirut (2007); ‘Japanese Jump’, video installation, Goethe Institute, Beirut (2007); ‘Vues de Beyrouth’, video installation, Galerie B-312, Montreal, Canada (2006); ‘Still Images’ installation, Espace SD, Beirut, (2005); ‘Pickled Book’, collage, Sursock Museum, Beirut (2004); and ‘Design Show’, Unesco, Paris (2003).

Other projects include ‘New Media in Lebanon’, documentary, writing and direction undertaken for Al-Jazeera TV (2004); ‘One of These Days People Went Out’, lecture and video, Festival International de Vidéo et Création, Cinema Empire, Beirut (2004); and text for ‘Virtual Space’, 1ère Biennale de Paris, Paris, (2004); 

Youssef’s work can be found in several public and private collections, including the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah and the Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, among others. He lives and works in Beirut.