Lina Faroussi

Artist Statement

In my paintings, I explore identity, transformation, and psychological landscapes through layered figurative abstraction. Rooted in expressionism and figurative abstraction, my practice seeks to convey emotional and internal states rather than depict literal reality. Working primarily in acrylic and mixed media, I construct textured surfaces where gesture, erosion, and material tension reflect states of transition and internal negotiation. I incorporate elements such as fabric, Japanese paper, clay, sand, and photo transfers to build tactile layers that echo memory and time. Born on the Mediterranean coast of Syria and shaped by lived experiences across Alexandria, Athens, Dubai, and Canada, my visual language carries a cross-continental sensibility. Recurring motifs of sea, stone, architecture and the human figure function as structural metaphors, stability against movement, memory against reinvention. Rather than presenting narrative directly, I am interested in emergence: how presence forms within shifting environments. Through layering, veiling, and gradual surface excavation, my work examines how identity evolves across geography and time, what is revealed, what remains embedded, and what transforms.