Engaging artists in conversation is something we’re always trying to do at Gallery Aferro, after all our building houses twenty or so artist studios, including my own. This video chat was recorded on March 27, 2020, and at this time governances and best practices evolving due to the spread of COVID-19 require us to practice social distancing. Gallery Aferro decided to temporarily close its doors to the public, deciding instead to engage our audience online.

With our current show “Glimpse” as a starting point, we the folks at Gallery Aferro sought to reach out to artists featured in that show and talk to them. Marah Siyam is an artist and former intern at Gallery Aferro whose calling card artistic trait is her experimentation with often thought of as hazardous materials to create her art. From cement, to bleach, to glass, Siyam lets her canvases have it. 

We got to speak about her art-making process, some of best and worst material experiments and the way her native home of Palestine informs her art practice. ■

– Juno Zago