Gardens Speak

Tania El Khoury (Lebanon / UK)

“Extraordinary, and emotionally wrenching.”

—The New York Times

In today’s Syria, oppression and violence are so far-reaching that even burial and mourning have become subversive acts. In this immersive sound installation, artist Tania El Khoury pays tribute to that subversion, and to 10 people whose lives have been lost in the regime’s brutal response to dissent. These 10 lie buried in family gardens, as do many others who have been killed in the ongoing conflict: public burial ceremonies expose family members to potential slaughter, and official interment also carries the risk of humiliation, with the bereaved often asked to sign documents absolving the Assad government of responsibility.

“This piece will change the way you think.” 

—WhatsOnStage

In groups of 10, audience members are led to a garden space marked by graves. At each grave, one person will hear a story—the reconstructed history of an individual killed in the conflict. These narratives lie waiting to be unearthed; exhuming them is an act of discovery, of communion, of rebellion and defiance through art.

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