vladimir antaki has a peculiar knack for extrapolating universal themes out of local authenticities, regardless of where life takes him. although armed with a strong sense of storytelling, antaki refuses to dictate where the story goes, but rather allows for happenstance and what some would describe as divine intervention to lead him on his journey. the result is a body of work abundant in undeniable human insights that champion connectivity, mutual understanding, and appreciation for the simpler things in life.

how would you describe your work?

the essence of my work is human connection. i connect to human beings by connecting the dots, connecting events, and trying to find occurrences that link the present to the past and guide me toward the future. i am addicted to this sense of happenstance. unconscious awareness is my main drive. the joy i take from not knowing, not having anything planned, is so great that i don’t want to intervene. i just want to go along and witness how the dots connect. it informs my creative process while keeping in mind that my main purpose is to show how we can peacefully connect with people from different cultures, promote social unity, and try to make the world a smaller place.

your exhibitions are often immersive and multi-sensorial. what is the objective behind such an approach?

immersivity is used to create an illusion of presence despite the absence. it enhances the storytelling and humanity behind my work. when you are face to face with someone, an instant connection is created. the goal is to recreate that same face-to-face connection between the images and the audience.

what is your biggest inspiration?

it’s never planned. i connect the dots, and that takes me places. once, i accepted a corporate contract with the simple goal of buying a camera lens. i got the lens and took a photo with it in the subway. that photo ended up being the first photo i took for “the guardians” series. i started taking more photos in a similar style, which reminded me of all the times i spent as a child in small local shops in beirut: pharmacies, video stores, book shops… that’s basically how the project took off, by connecting the dots. in retrospect, i realize that most of my decisions as an adult or as an artist are dreams i had as a child. there’s a sentence i love: “the creative adult is the child who has survived”. it rings very true to me. we talk a lot about the artist’s ego, but i think it’s the ego of the child. everything i do is to make that inner child happy.

portraits from your series “the guardians” are currently on display at the saudi national museum. would you explain the title of this series?

in the series, there is always a person standing in the middle of what i call their urban temple, and every temple needs a guardian. these urban temples are very important and need to be safeguarded. back in the day, you would go to specific places that catered to specific needs. now, everything can be found in malls that are devoid of artisans. it’s important for me to shed light on these places and remind people of how essential they are. craftsmen are not robots. they do what they do with passion. these small shops are important because, without passion, we have nothing, and we become generic. the same applies to me. if i did what i did without passion, people wouldn’t connect as much to my work.

these portraits are cluttered, depicting organized chaos stemming from an abundance of culture that comes with arab craftsmanship. in an increasingly digitized world, what is the role of traditional craft?

nowadays, people are used to sterile places like apple stores, zara, or uniqlo. the urban temples depicted in my work are not chaotic at all, but rather a treasure chest where you can spend the whole day exploring. on another note, today, you can 3d print whatever you want, and that’s amazing. however, when you look at people who do things from scratch, it is mesmerizing. you’re telling me that this craftsman’s work holds less value than a machine? of course not. people should be honored and happy to pay a premium to get artisanal pieces, because craftsmanship lasts years and can be passed on from generation to generation. it shouldn’t just be about monetary value, but rather about legacy.

there is a sense of nostalgia for the yesteryear, or a simpler time, in most of your series. how would you describe the world we live in today?

i’m grateful to witness this new era, and i love technology, but i find myself nostalgic for the analog days every day of my life. nowadays, everything is available, and people have access to everything, but we don’t appreciate it anymore. back then, we were happy with what we had.

in your series “pilgrimage”, you traveled the world with a mission to depict different communities and cultures. why is it so important to explore different cultures, and how does it inform you as an artist?

with all the hate, violence, and wars we are witnessing today, do i really need to tell you why it’s important? i guess it’s my way of tackling those subjects artistically, which would give me the credibility i need to approach these topics. these days, you feel forced to choose a camp and pick a side, which is normal in certain cases, but through my art, i’m depicting the world as a friendly place rather than a politicized one. i want people to experience cultures in an unbiased manner. ‘pilgrimage’ promotes openness towards other cultures, and how all cultures should be respected and honored despite conflict, war, and death. the world is not a scary place.

the “pilgrimage” visuals are very staged yet seem candid. how would you explain that?

the idea was to freeze time. i never took more than ten minutes to take these pictures. i stop people in the moment, and ask them to participate in my work. they are staged, but they are not calculated in advance. it’s a spontaneous process.

in your series “beirut, mon amour”, a series of kaleidoscopic depictions of beirut facades, you nostalgically explore the city’s scars. has beirut scarred you?

beirut scarred my people with all the wars. personally, beirut is the only place left in the world where i can feel a strong connection with my deceased parents, but i cannot go back, because they make it so complicated now. i wish they would fix the country, because i miss it every day. i haven’t gone back since the passing of my father, but i plan to since it is my responsibility to keep our legacy going in lebanon. i guess that is how it scarred me.

your ‘elsfies’ series, which consists of pictures of celebrities holding a picture/business card of you in all sorts of creative ways, took the celebrity world by storm, including lady gaga, juliette binoche, and spike lee, among many others. how do you explain its success?

in 2008, i was in montreal looking for work, but nobody would hire me, so i decided to make a business card, and for some reason, i wanted it to include my face. i looked for pictures of myself and found a picture i had taken with a friend a few days earlier. i used it, created a polaroid layout, added my coordinates, and printed it. i had 30 of them with me at a design festival. i gave it to a designer who loved my business card, so i decided to take a picture of him holding it. this sparked the idea to make it a series wherever i would go. suddenly, people started asking me to take their photo with it, and it became a thing. i am at this other event, and lady gaga is there. i take her picture, leave, and so on. every time i was in a situation where i had to take another picture, i would take it the same way, but nothing was planned. when my mother passed away a couple of years later, i asked my dad to give me some photos of her. i found a polaroid picture of my mother, and i was flabbergasted. the picture is almost a carbon-copy of my polaroid. in that picture, she is wearing near-identical glasses to mine, has the same facial expression, and she is holding an actual polaroid. all of a sudden, everything made sense. this is what i mean by connecting the dots. i just go along, let things happen, and the purpose unveils itself.

you are lebanese, born in the kingdom of saudi arabia, raised in france, and lived in canada. what is home to you?

i am actually writing about this at the moment, and found a quote that says it all: “enjoy coming home because there is going to come a time when you cannot go home. the house will be there, but the people in the house won’t be”. i cried when i read that. i currently don’t know where my home is since my parents are no longer here. home was my home with my parents. i would love to be in beirut, but it’s not home without them. i feel homeless in the sense that i don’t know where home is anymore.

considering you’ve been on the move from a very young age, one could say you are a “third-culture kid”. how has that affected your journey as an artist?

when i was two years old, we moved to paris in a tower filled with lebanese expats. some even sold lebanese bread from their home. even though i was uprooted, i was still immersed in lebanese culture. at first, i hated it because it made me feel different. it was embarrassing. now i understand that there is nothing to be ashamed of. on the contrary, that is something i should be proud of. being unrooted allowed me to evolve in a distinctive way and feel unique no matter where i go.

the arab art scene is getting worldwide attention, while the arab world seems to be at the epicenter of global politics. in your opinion, why is it so important for arab artists to be seen?

my one watchout is that it’s not about artists being arab per se. the significance lies in what these artists have to say. their insights, critiques, and stories that contribute to a broader understanding of contemporary issues. showcasing artists who genuinely reflect and engage with their culture and current events can enrich the global art scene. it can also promote cross-cultural understanding and dialogue, which is particularly important in a world where the arab region is at the forefront of many political and social discussions. however, it’s important to be aware that not all representation is good representation.

interview by ralph arida

connecting dots with vladimir antaki