Omar Mismar's Mosaics on War and Desire at Secci Gallery, Milan

Omar Mismar's first Italian solo show 'Exercises in Ruins' at Galleria Secci in Milan presents mosaics that weave together ancient techniques and contemporary digital culture, addressing war, displacement, and desire. The centerpiece depicts Salman al-Nabahin, a Palestinian farmer who in 2022 discovered a 5th-7th century Byzantine mosaic in Bureij refugee camp, Gaza, while replanting olive trees. Mismar transformed internet-sourced photographs of al-Nabahin into a mosaic, symbolizing resistance against Israeli uprooting of olive trees. The exhibition, curated by Marco Scotini, includes 'Torsos' (2025), faceless male torsos referencing gay dating apps, and 'The Path of Love' (2013), a neon work based on Grindr geolocation performances in San Francisco. Mismar's engagement with mosaic began in 2015 through contact with Syrian Monuments Men at Ma'arrat al-Numan museum, leading to the video 'Abou Farid's War' (2021). The artist, who lived in the US and now resides in Lebanon, explores disaster aesthetics, absence, and memory without depicting violence directly.