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Middle East & Africa

Nour Ouayda
The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden by Nour Ouayda seeks to express the aftermath of disruptive events like those encountered in Lebanon and globally in recent years. These occurrences have redefined our perception of reality and introduced the extraordinary into the everyday. The film serves as a record and witness of these changes. Visually, The Secret Garden comprises close-ups of plants overlaid with a narrator’s voice recounting the journey of two women investigating the sudden invasion of new and unfamiliar plants in their city. The technique involves prolonged contemplation of a single subject, revealing its hidden facets with time, akin to plants’ intricacies under scrutiny. Ouayda’s first foray into film, this work is shot with Bolex (16mm) and Nizo (Super8) cameras which allow frame-by-frame and time-lapse shooting. This experimentation with in-camera editing captures her presence across locations, embodying the specificity of each place. In essence, the film encapsulates transformative times, visually portraying the emergence of the unusual from the familiar, while experimenting with film as a medium and construct. The work addresses the transformation of cities/places and the methods of documenting these changes. It explores how socio-political shifts redefine the relationship between the familiar and the supernatural. It delves into the ecological aspect, questioning the conventional boundary between humans and nature. It prompts us to re-examine the malaise we have instilled in our ecosystem. The Secret Garden manoeuvres with urban transformation, societal shifts, altered perceptions, and the intricate relationship surrounding our immediate environments.

Nour Ouayda's practice is characterized by her exploration of diverse narrative forms within the realm of cinema. With an unwavering curiosity, she delves into the intricate relationship that binds text, sound, and image. This amalgamation serves as her conduit to transform the everyday into the extraordinary, revealing hidden layers of mystery within the mundane. For Ouayda, this transformative process is not merely an artistic endeavor but a means of expanding the boundaries of human imagination. By ingeniously juxtaposing what may appear as “documentary” elements – the visual and auditory snippets drawn from reality – with the eloquent voices of fictional narratives, Ouayda creates an enchanting tapestry that defies convention. This interplay between fact and fiction unlocks the magical and the surreal, previously concealed within the ordinary. By challenging the status quo, she fosters a realm of artistic freedom wherein the imaginary flourishes. Ultimately, her oeuvre encourages reconsideration of the familiar and embrace the uncanny, unfurling the human experience in a way that is both thought-provoking and liberating.