Lana Khayat is a Lebanese artist whose work grows out of personal history and lived experience. She comes from a family of artisans — her great-grandfather Mohamad Suleiman Khayat was a master craftsman specialising in the restoration of traditional Syrian Ajami rooms.

Lana began her artistic practice by exploring Arabic calligraphy and script. Alongside this research, another element slowly appeared — the lily. Over time, the lily became, for her, a symbol of womanhood: strength, resilience, and endurance.

As her practice developed, the work evolved naturally. It gradually moved away from calligraphy and toward nature, becoming bolder and more confident. This shift was clearly visible in her solo exhibition, "The White Lilies of Marrakech".

But Lana’s practice never stays the same — it continues to evolve. In her exhibition at Shiras Galería in Valencia, titled “El Titan in the Laboratory of Grace”, she presents a new direction through the use of stitching. While the works continue to speak about womanhood, they move more directly toward ideas of wounds, pain, and healing. Stitching becomes both gesture and language: an act of repair and persistence.

— Lana, congratulations on your exhibition at Shiras Galería in Valencia! For this show, you prepared a special body of work. Can you tell me about it?

— As my practice grew, I felt a need to speak more directly and more honestly. The work became rawer in the sense that I wanted it to carry deeper meaning. I began asking myself: why only paint or draw the lily as a symbol of womanhood? Why not intervene more physically?

The idea of stitching came from the notion of repair. As women, we experience pain, yet we rise again. We heal, we continue. Stitching felt like a natural extension of that idea. It is what you do when there is a wound. So I began stitching the lily directly onto the canvas.

At first, I was uncertain about how this would be received. But the response was incredibly strong. The works resonated both conceptually and visually, and that balance felt important to me.

This is where my practice is now. I am experimenting with thread and silk, cutting the material into flowers and stitching them onto the surface as symbols of wounds, repair, and healing. For me, the thread itself is a form of mending. The stitch is about closing a wound.

— The exhibition space was presented almost like a laboratory. What was the intention behind this approach?

— I wanted the exhibition to feel like a place of process. Some works appear finished, while others do not. In some cases, what is shown is actually the back of the canvas. Viewers sometimes assume the lilies are glued onto the surface, so I wanted to reveal the labour and the mechanics behind the work.

That led me to reconsider what a “finished” work could be. When I stitch the flowers, the back of the canvas becomes dense with thread. From the front, you see the image; from the back, you see the process. That was when I began asking myself: why not allow the work in progress to become the final work?

During the exhibition, one critic remarked that while many of the paintings felt close to Impressionism, these stitched works stood apart entirely. That comment stayed with me, especially because I had been apprehensive about showing them.

— Why?

— I wasn’t sure how audiences would respond, and I was aware that many people still expect traditional oil painting. But I followed my intuition. I wanted the work to become more tactile and more exposed. That decision has fundamentally shaped the direction of my practice.

— How did audiences respond overall?

— The opening day was particularly memorable. It was a rainy Friday, and the gallery initially worried about attendance. The opening had even been moved earlier than planned due to my travel to Diriyah. Despite this, the turnout was extraordinary. According to the gallery, attendance was four times higher than usual.

People were deeply engaged. Many wanted to speak with me directly. That response confirmed that taking risks with thread and silk was the right decision. I often hear that the work carries a sense of joy, and I think that emotional accessibility is important. At the same time, viewers responded strongly to the level of detail and intricacy in the pieces.

The installation with the thread boards, in particular, drew significant attention and became a focal point of the exhibition.

— The exhibition also features different types of works, such as smaller pieces made using papier-mâché. What could you tell me about them?

— These works are exclusive to Spain. For this exhibition, I wanted to introduce something more intimate. They began as an experiment. One day, I simply asked myself: why not work directly with paper?

Like my larger works, they reference nature, but in a more concentrated way. They feel like close-ups, or fragments, of the larger paintings. I chose to frame them without glass so that viewers could physically touch the surface. That tactile connection was important to me.

— You are currently preparing for Diriyah. What can we expect to see there?

— In Diriyah, I will present an installation that transforms the space into a laboratory of repair. Visitors will encounter my tools, threads, canvases, and flowers. It is my workspace made visible, offering insight into my process rather than presenting a traditional exhibition format.

I will also show small works on paper attached directly to the wall. The space will function more like a studio than a gallery.

— And what about Art Dubai?

— I can’t reveal everything yet, but I will be presenting six ceramic works, three monumental pieces, and approximately six medium-scale works.

— I don’t remember seeing you work with ceramics very much before. Will this be your first time presenting ceramics in a solo context?

— Yes. While ceramics are new within my exhibitions, the work remains deeply connected to my existing practice. It is my language translated into another material. Hafez Gallery has been incredibly supportive, encouraging me to take risks and follow my instincts. Introducing ceramics felt like a natural extension and added another layer to the work.