Want your photo taken? Come find me at Mousiqa Bil Madina (Music in the City) this Saturday, May 9, from 3PM–7PM 📸
Free portraits — just show up and step in front of the lens.
Presented by @fed.square and @habibihafla
#studioKaake #portraitphotoshoot
Copies of my book '99 Names' are heading to the LA Art Book Fair for the second year — this time with Tall Poppy Press collaborating with @smogpress .
99 Names is the debut monograph, published by Tall Poppy Press. @tallpoppypress
The book examines symbols, cultural practices, and Islamic/Arab religious iconography through a post-colonial lens. It explores how religion is used to shape power and control, and how, within patriarchal structures, submission can also operate as a strategy — a quiet negotiation with authority. In this tension, dependency shifts into agency, and silence becomes a form of authorship, particularly for women and queer individuals.
Copies will be available at the fair and via Tall Poppy Press. (link in bio)
The 2026 LA Art Book Fair (LAABF), presented by @printedmatter_artbookfairs , runs from May 7–10. If you’re in LA, make sure to
#LAArtBookFair #ArtBook #ArtistBook #ContemporaryArt #losangeles
𝑨𝑵𝑵𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻
𝑷𝒓𝒆-𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒘!! '99 Names' has been widely celebrated and recognized, receiving awards and being selected as a finalist in prestigious competitions. I am thrilled to announce that this project will be culminating in a collaboration with Tall Poppy press @tallpoppypress , who I have been working closely with to showcase this body of work in a book. We have carefully curated this book to be a piece of art itself, incorporating elements from the original installations and even wrapping it in the same fabric used in the show.
Pre-orders for the book can be made through their website -Link in Bio- before March 1st.
And we are excited to officially launch the book during PHOTO24 @photofestivalau in March.
#preorderphotobook #melbournephotography #worldwidephotobook #photobooklaunch #photobooklove #melbournemoments #lebanon #iran #instadaily #rainbow #worldwideadventures #melbournelife #preorderoffer #photobookcollection #conceptart #queerart
coming home to this after a long day at work is the cutest and happiest thing ever 🥺🤍 #home
Normally I don't share stuff like this on my feed but why not spreading some cute things 😁 #love #weloveHeneytheboxer #dogsarethebest
📸 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: AYMAN KAAKE 🇱🇧✨
Based in Naarm (Melbourne), Ayman Kaake is a Lebanese-born visual artist whose work is a profound journey through photography, visual storytelling, and poetic image-making.
His practice is deeply evocative, often exploring the delicate intersections of queerness, intimacy, and culture. For Ayman, photography is a tool for memory and love—a way to navigate the complexities of identity while honoring his roots and the journey of the soul.
📍 THE WORK: His recent collaborations, such as Queer Reclamation at Midsumma, showcase his ability to use the lens to reclaim space and narrative. Through his eyes, we see a world where memory and the present moment collide to tell stories of displacement, belonging, and the beauty of the queer experience. 🎞️🤍
WHY HE’S ESSENTIAL:
Ayman’s work doesn't just capture a moment; it captures a feeling. His imagery is a visual poem that speaks to the heart of what it means to be human, to love, and to remember.
📍 EXPLORE HIS UNIVERSE: Don't miss his latest projects and poetic captures here: @aymankaake
🔥 SUPPORT QUEER VISUAL ART.
Our community’s stories are being rewritten through the lenses of artists like Ayman. Follow, support, and immerse yourself in his storytelling! 🎨✊
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#AymanKaake #QueerArt #LebaneseArtist #Photography #NaarmArtists #VisualStorytelling #Midsumma #QueerIdentity
In every war, the world seems to end again.
Bodies fall, buildings crumble, roads split open, and cities collapse into dust.
Perhaps even the universe itself breaks apart. Yet the deepest breaking is not of stone or sky, but of memory. There, the wounds return again and again, each day reopening what time cannot mend. Fragments of images linger.
Shattered Images from a shattered memory.
what is like to be a lebanese immigrant during the war? #lebaneseindiaspora #لبنان #lebanon #ramadan2026 #peace
A 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 accompanies
the exhibition 'rūḥ al-rūḥ – jan-e janān' available now on 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲.
For the publication each artist selected one writer they hold a connection with to unpack their work for the exhibition alongside their artistic practice.
Here Angelita Biscotti shares the context and intention of Ayman Kaake's work "States of Fluidity".
Read more on West Space Offsite via link in bio.
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Angelita Biscotti (they/them, she/her) examines the politics and aesthetics of moral distance through photography, performance, sound art, video and writing. Angelita's photography has appeared in VICE, Middle East Eye, and in Footscray Community Arts Centre's Revolution and Joy group exhibition. Angelita's writing has been published in Sydney Review of Books, Cordite Poetry Review, Liminal, Jacobin, Overland, Dancehouse, Performance Review and elsewhere.
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Images: Ayman Kaake, 'Testing the Water', 2025, sheer fabric, directional sound, single channel video, 10min, 40 secs, 4.5 x 1.5 x 1.5m, installation view, 'rūḥ al-rūḥ – jan-e janān', West Space. Photography by Janelle Low
As a way to end this year, here's one of my favorite shots of my mother that got delivered back to me from Tweed Heads Gallery @tweedregionalgallery after winning highly commended from the judges for the Olive Cotton Award. To start my year, I'm hanging this and bringing a bit of Lebanon into my home.
As a side note, this image was shortlisted for the national portrait gallery in UK, but unfortunately it wasn't chosen for the final show. Somimagine my mum in UK as well 😍
Thanks @matte_image for the great print and @arten_framing for your framing
#mumcooking #kebbé #love #happynewyear
Shoutout to the incredible people who made my vision a reality throughout this year:
- @macawithonec , for helping me build this sculpture from recycled wood and teaching me the difference between a drill and a driver.
@camille_musician , for assisting me with recording the audio and making me sound good.
@jbjonboy , for drilling 99 holes. @lily_may.16 , for sewing everything I needed to sew.
@safaelsamad , for the amazing workshop.
@celine.com.au , for your beautiful writing in the Memo review about my show at Counihan.
- My mum, for being my muse and helping me create the most iconic portrait of my career, which earned me an honorable mention at the Olive Cotton Prize and made me a finalist at the NPPP25.
@boolos_man , for offering your recording expertise.
@wally_515 for the haircuts and gossips heheh
and of course my dog and my emotional support Henry ❤️
Here’s to more collaborations in 2026!
#2025recap #hny #2026 #love
Thank you—belatedly but sincerely—for coming to our show Rūh-al-rūh , Jan-e-Janān. From the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful to everyone who joined us and helped bring this show to life. Your support means the world.
This show is the result of a beautiful friendship among four artists who share similar experiences but express them through different mediums. My piece, Testing the Water, explores the dual identity many of us perform to fit societal expectations, with cracks of authenticity peeking through.
My special thanks go to @boolos_man for his assistance in recording the audio for this project.
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rūḥ al-rūḥ – jan-e janān, 2025, West Space Commission, Collingwood Yards. @westspace@collingwood_yards
Supported by @creative.australia
Artists:
@elyasalavi@kiazand_@alitahayori
ayman kaake
curated by @rainbow_jalebi
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installation images by Janelle Low
Opening images by Machiko Abe
Exhibition Visual Identity by @safaelsamad
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#exhibition #artscenegallery #art
10 years ago, I made this video in a tiny room while living in a church. I had just saved up to buy my first camera and was obsessed with stop motion after watching Tania Saleh’s “Ayya Wehdeh Baddak” and “Fog al Nakhal” by Mokhtar Beirut. The video was inspired by a drawing I made before I even owned a camera—it captured this unexplainable feeling of pure happiness. It’s based on my Tayta’s saying, “Books are like birds, they make you fly wherever you want.” I imagined little birds trapped in a book, longing to see the real world.
I made it using recycled paper and random objects I’d find on my way to and from work, crafting it all in that tiny room. After showing it to two friends, they said it didn’t make sense, so I tucked it away in a folder inside a folder.
The story is about a small bird who escape the book, dreaming of seeing the real world. With tiny wings that couldn’t carry him, he meet a red ballon that has been abandoned simply because he looks different than the other ballon. Together, they form an unlikely friendship, helping each other explore the world. But when the bird see the world filled with inhumanity , he decide to bring the balloon back to the safety of his book, where it’s much nicer. 📚🎈 #StopMotion #ArtStory #Friendship #christmastime #christmastree #crafty
