Nazar is a tender, intimate encounter in virtual reality between participant and performer. It unfolds as experiential poetry within evil-eye protection sessions, shared by the artist and her mother across decades of unrest and their eventual separation.
Nazar premiered at NewImages Festival in Paris in April 2026 where it was the co-winner of the Grand Prix and the Impact awards.
LOCATION-BASED
ROOM-SCALE VR
30 MINUTES per slot,
8 Slots per day
LANGUAGES:
ENGLISH, ARABIC, FRENCH
Up to 5
Participants per slot
The experience is informed by an ongoing research that delves into the constellation of protection practices, passed-down from mother to daughter across generations in Lebanon.
The research process behind Nazar developed through the School SOS residency which culminated in a collective exhibition at South London Gallery in 2022.
Combining field research, collected material, internet archives, and a 1965 medical study on infant health and the evil eye in Lebanon, this process materialised into a digital archive that later informed a custom algorithm: the character of the Mother and the House she resides in.
To learn more about our research, click here ……………………………………….. ↓↓↓↓↓↓
“This has been an unmatched experience that far exceeded what I thought could be accomplished in relation to performance and rooted sensorial knowledge”
Sursock Museum User-Testing – 2024
Slowly moving past personal narratives, embodied performances invite audiences to experience these practices, extended virtually into a speculative future, as methodolgies of deeply enduring care,
Communicated primarily through touch.
Created and performed by Lara Habib Kobeissi
Lead Collaborator and Associate Producer Thomas Buckley
XR Development Pete Roobol
Sound Design Sarmad Louis and Rawane Khater
Performance Design Consultancy Hanane Hajj Ali and Sarmad Louis
Creative Technology, XR Art & Animation Lara Habib Kobeissi
Contributors:
Salam Ali Sbeity
Soad Jrady
Lina and Itaf Karaki
Sahar and Yusra Kobeissi
Special Thanks to: Elsa • Mariam • Sara • Sally • Aida & Hussein Sbeity • Rola & Salah Zeidan • Alia Alzougbi • Wanda Hu • Marc Boothe • Rob Morgan • Ben Carlin
With additional thanks to: Thomas Buckley and Hanane Hajj Ali
