in the presence of the artist
Kristof De Clercq gallery is delighted to present Fiha ma fiha, Marie Zolamian's (b. 1975, Beirut; lives and works in Liège) first exhibition with the gallery. Bringing together a new body of paintings, the exhibition follows her acclaimed solo presentation at WIELS earlier this year.
The title draws on Fihi ma fihi - literally, "Inside, what is inside" -, a title attributed to a work of Persian prose by the 13th-century poet and mystic Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī. Zolamian shifts its structure from fihi, "in him," to fiha, "in her." This movement from masculine to feminine may refer to painting, the image, the exhibition, memory or interiority.
In Arabic, fihi also means "there is," and ma fihi, "there is not." The phrase can therefore be heard as "there is / there is not": it asserts a presence and withdraws it in the same movement.
The title resonates with The Interior Castle, the title Zolamian gave to one of her sculptures in 2014 in reference to the writings of Teresa of Ávila: the image of the soul as a castle with multiple mansions, made of a single diamond, and the paradox of entering what one already is.
Through its repetition and rhythmic structure, Fiha ma fiha appears as a formula or an incantation, acting even before it is understood.
The following two videos offer an insight into Marie Zolamian's practice:
A portrait of Marie Zolamian in her atelier in the context of her exhibition Confabulations that was on view from February until May 2026 at WIELS, Brussels. © WIELS, 2026. Video by Simon Cools Fierlafijn.
A portrait of Marie Zolamian made on the occasion of the exhibition Painting After Painting, 2025, S.M.A.K., Ghent. © S.M.A.K., 2025. Video by Jonas Reubens.
