“100 lilies, 100 years” — Lana Khayat on Selections Magazine
Lebanese contemporary artist Lana Khayat spoke with Selections Magazine about her solo exhibition The White Lilies of Marrakech: Women as Timeless Narratives at Riyadh’s Hafez Gallery (Feb 19–Mar 25, 2025). Inspired by the centennial of Morocco’s Jardin Majorelle, Lana shared how she created 100 paintings—each marking a year of the garden’s legacy—and an immersive display of 1,000 lilies, making the flower itself a central storyteller .
Lilies as Symbols of Strength
“White lilies embody resilience and renewal,” Lana explains. She chose this motif to speak to the collective strength of women—hardy stems supporting soft petals, mirroring how women navigate vulnerability with grit. Each canvas becomes a narrative of heritage and endurance, weaving together the timeless with the modern .
Where Language Meets Flora
Lana’s work blends Tifinagh—the indigenous Amazigh script—and Arabic calligraphy, weaving them into her lily paintings to create a layered dialogue between language, memory, and identity. She views script as more than symbolism—it’s a visual heartbeat, a form of reclaiming space through art .