Rayyane Tabet “The Shortest Distance Between Two Points” at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet, The Shortest Distance Between Two Points, installation view, 2013. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet
The Shortest Distance Between Two Points
4 April – 20 July 2013
at Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

A line is a construction of distance – in space, in time, in vision. It gives definition to form and position through connection and separation.

The Trans-Arabian Pipe Line Company was established in 1946 as a joint venture between Caltex, Esso, and Mobil. TAPLine was formed to build and operate a 1213 kilometer long 78 centimeter wide steel tube to transport oil through land. With this endeavor the company described three intersecting lines – an arc of history, geography, and geometry.

The pipeline replied to the tradition of a curved route through straits surrounding the Arabian Peninsula with a line cut into the Fertile Crescent. TAPLine proposed a straight connection from Dhahran to Haifa. The Partition Plan for Palestine forced an angle that redirected the line to Zahrani. Lebanon received the endpoint on a direct trajectory that delivered Saudi oil to America. [read the full text here]

Sfeir-Semler Gallery
Tannous Building,
Quarantine, Lb-2077
7209 Beirut
Lebanon
sfeir-semler.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday: 11h00 – 18h00

Rayyane Tabet, The Shortest Distance Between Two Points, installation view, 2013. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet, Steel Ring, 2013. Detail. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut



Rayyane Tabet, Letterhead, 2013. Detail. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet, The Shortest Distance Between Two Points, installation view, detail. 2013. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut

Rayyane Tabet, The Shortest Distance Between Two Points, installation view, 2013. Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut