2025/09,10 amsterdam ferry festival
A pirate has taken over the ferry. He speaks in fragments —
stories gathered on an endless journey toward the sun.
Half-remembered fables. Drawings made on the move.
He offers no directions. Only traces.
This Summer, Amsterdam Ferry Festival presents This Ship Carries No Answers, a solo exhibition by Christian Sleiman. IJveer 63 has been transformed into a moving world in which various, fablelike creatures reside. The narrator that introduces this world manifests as a pirate, whose journey is not shaped by its destination, but by what he encounters along the way. Ferry travelers that temporarily enter this world are invited to join the pirate in his pursuit of the sun.
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stories gathered on an endless journey toward the sun.
Half-remembered fables. Drawings made on the move.
He offers no directions. Only traces.
This Summer, Amsterdam Ferry Festival presents This Ship Carries No Answers, a solo exhibition by Christian Sleiman. IJveer 63 has been transformed into a moving world in which various, fablelike creatures reside. The narrator that introduces this world manifests as a pirate, whose journey is not shaped by its destination, but by what he encounters along the way. Ferry travelers that temporarily enter this world are invited to join the pirate in his pursuit of the sun.
The pirate catches you entering.
He stands, steady, and says:
“Welcome aboard.
There are no fixed coordinates —
only a journey tracing the curve of the sun.
Time folds here.
Moments blur and stack,
like waves in motion or pages in a dream.
Time doesn’t move in straight lines on this ship.
The crew is whoever gathers.
Each stop carries a lesson.
Each creature might be a guide.
If we lose the sun along the way,
know that we’ve been swallowed by the beast —
where the dark echoes.
But don’t be afraid.
The belly is its weakest part.
This isn’t an exhibition.
It’s a moment —
a soft interruption,
a shift in the wind.
And you’ve arrived just in time.”
He stands, steady, and says:
“Welcome aboard.
There are no fixed coordinates —
only a journey tracing the curve of the sun.
Time folds here.
Moments blur and stack,
like waves in motion or pages in a dream.
Time doesn’t move in straight lines on this ship.
The crew is whoever gathers.
Each stop carries a lesson.
Each creature might be a guide.
If we lose the sun along the way,
know that we’ve been swallowed by the beast —
where the dark echoes.
But don’t be afraid.
The belly is its weakest part.
This isn’t an exhibition.
It’s a moment —
a soft interruption,
a shift in the wind.
And you’ve arrived just in time.”
2025/09 solo exhibition
at No chef in the kitchen
Beirut, Lebanon
2024/09 beirut
2024/04-08 amsterdam
various size; acrylic, oil and oil pastel
2024/03-04 eckernförder
various size; acrylic, oil and oil pastel
