messages that I wanted to convey. It also made me self- conscious and aware of some of the why I make what I make....

CTS: When were you first informed you were chosen to participate in the Biennale?

MK: I was informed in August 2004- I couldn't believe it! I first informed Arwa Seifeddine who was proposed with me as curator. My joy was short lasted since the months that followed, lots of events in Lebanon happened, the biennale had approved my project, I also asked to involve Jackie Winsor because of my tight collaboration with

have been living with so to say for many years, can you explain to us why the biennale to you was the opt- tune time for you to produce this project?

MK: Personal Living Space is an art piece that I had started to develop with Arwa Seifeddine    a couple of years back. I think it is the catalyst of a lot of the pieces that followed... I had developed a model then. My dad always had a say in the pieces I made...I thought the Biennale was the most important show I was invited to and I felt it was my due to give that a piece its due.

CTS: What effect (if any) do you think your childhood had on the creativity you

display as an adult? Or was there a significant life event that may have played a role in your creative development?

MK: I think childhood is what makes you as an adult- the experiences you go through will mark you as an adult. For myself I think it is a series of different events combined together. I think if you go though my book, the stories I tell would make things maybe a little clearer to the audience. I will briefly mention the war that was maybe the event that drew the path of my destiny and the destiny of my family and lots of other people... I think the war played the role of mean abusive grand-parents who

abused and beat my parents- you can see it in that sense, me at 5, 6 or 7 looking at that, seeing the despair and the helplessness of my parents against the war; watching with big eyes... I think my work deals a lot with me now giving a voice to the 5, 6 year old. I try to listen to her, to bring her out and make her talk.

CTS: Ignorant Skin, that wonderful work on the first floor, did you have a specific goal when you saw the space? To me the space really lends it self to the work. If you had to estimate could you tell us how many hours did it take of handwork to complete such an enormous piece and what are some of the materials that

make up the piece? And how far into the canal does the hair flow?

MK: Ignorant Skin is an Installation/ Performance that was made with a special awareness to the space. It took an immense amount of hrs work. This piece was made of fabric, (silk and other). Thread (silk and other), glue, beads (plastic glass with various dimensions), marbles... Its dimensions: 1125 cm x 280 cm x 200 cm- 36' - 10 9/10 "x    9' - 2 2/10 "x 6' - 6 7/10 " and involved 1654 hours of work. Than there is the hair that goes 9 feet into the canal.

CTS: Do you have any concerns that

I recall a time when I was younger, my sister and I use to share a bedroom. She was six, I was eight, she would wake me every night with little tears in her eyes whispering to me that some one had come into our room and switched our bedroom furniture around confusing her, she swore it was some form of magic, the kind only children believe, the kind with simple solutions. All we had to do to set it right before mom woke up, and surly she would with all the noise we would make, was to leave the room for a few minutes, perhaps for a convenient snack, and "they" would put it all back.

Upon entering Marya Kazouns exhibition I remember this strange tucked away memory, something about the these bulbous shapes, reaching out towards me; moving while standing still, hairy tentacles strung from all orifices of the building blurring your vision and confusing your footing, and than there

slowly sewing each strand of "hair" as she calls it on to delicate fabric rings. I remember thinking this was ridiculous; insane even, but truthfully it was inspiring. The kind of rush one rarely feels nowadays. This is her gift. Her works demands your full attention. It craves your every motion be dedicated to it's accomplishment. Each stitch is a gesture of your self for it creation. She is a giant in a padded plush room, space only enough for her to lay wailing, weeping, and sleeping in.

CTS: Welcome back to New York! I understand you are only here for a few days so I appreciate you spending some time with us. First we would like to extend our congratulations, the exhibit was just incredible. When did you being your career in the arts?

MK: Shall I start from when I learned that what I was doing was labeled art? When I was younger (9-12-13yrs old) I was always creating atmospheres

wearing my mother's clothes, turning them into medieval costumes, or costumes that look like they came from fairy tales movies...and I would put up a play involving other kids that I would dress up as well. We would put up a script (based on the clothes) and act accordingly... I was always acting in the play silently and fixing stuff behind the scenes- I was/ am interested in the overall feelings...that s probably the roots of my performances... A little later I made jewellery, and handbags, that also looked like they came from another picture plane /or a different place. Than I went to university, where I fist studied Interior Design, than Interior Architecture and Fine Arts at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, and at the same time learned fashion design and pattern making at the Russian Institute in Beirut as well. I finally did my Masters in Fine Arts in NYC...All of the formation I had sharpened my skills and taught me to be clearer and more articulate in the

her my last year in New York and you, Lynn del Sol, since you had also curated one of my solo shows before. My proposal for the new curators was accepted but my troubles were just starting. With the bloody events that took place in Lebanon, the killing of Mr. Hariri, the bomb attempts that followed made it impossible. I was re-proposed by a Swedish museum, the Mjellby Konstmuseum.

CTS: So you get this incredible news, your in one of the world's largest exhibition... what is the next step, who do you call where do you being. Bring us through what must have been a crazy next few days.

MK: I get the incredible news in March. I am invited to do a solo show within the Biennale. At that point, I have to find sponsors, inform all the galleries that I work with and see who wanted to help with the founds that I had and that were not enough. Than finding a space

was also hard since the other pavilions had already rented out most of the spaces around the center of Venice. It was thanks to Galleria Michela Rizzo that venue for my show. Without all the list of galleries and people listed in the beginning of my book, I don't think I would have been able to make it in such a short time.

CTS: Do you have a relationship with the Venice and Swedish galleries and what was that experience like?

MK: For some reason my work has been more appreciated in Europe than in the US, maybe because I haven't had as much exposure in the US...I have been working with those galleries for 5 to 6 yrs now, they have been of a great support for me..

CTS: Two floors, five rooms and only 21 days, how did you see yourself able to get a project of this magnitude complete?

to help; I had a total of 55 people to help execute the art works. My studio was open 24 hrs; people were coming in and out at different hrs of the day and of the night.

CTS: At any point were you worried that this project would never be complete on time? There is a lot pressure when participating in an event like the Biennial, what was a challenge you faced in working in Italy and how did you overcome it?

MK: Italian bureaucracy first, difficulty to find materials, I had to look for materials, up in Como, Padova...Finding the places to buy material, it's a huge effort to find out about places, everything is hidden here for some reason, and materials are very expensive, the best way is ask around.. CTS: I understand that Personal Living Space, the proposal submitted to the committee, was actually something you

people may see your work differently from the way you regard it?

MK: No, I think each and every person should experience it differently, relating the piece to themselves or not... The more pieces I will make the stronger the message I guess- for me?!

CTS: What does art, in general, mean to you and do you perceive yourself as creative?

MK:   Creative no. Hard-worker Yes, for sure. We are all creative. It all depends of what we make of that creativity, you are an artist you work hard, relationships between materials, spaces, time and feeling form and you make use of it. I believe the more you work, the more relationships and symbiosis between elements come to light...

CTS: If so do you believe that creativity and genius go hand in hand?

MK: They have to be there a little, but I believe that everybody is creative and genius in their own way. It is what you make of it...

CTS: Now from the schedule I received it looks like you have about eight European exhibitions coming up, is that right? How do you keep this all together, it is amazing, Ancona, Peschara, Prato, Holland, Sweden, Scotland and the Netherlands.... Do you have any blank pages in your passport? MK:(Laughter) I am really busy overseas but I would like to have more shows in the US, I've been having lots of shows in Europe I am very happy about, it 's a great satisfaction- I have just installed a couple of days ago the show in Ancona and the show in Pescara, In September I have a big exhibition at the Miniartextil which I am now preparing for.