Given their peculiar shape, an Arabian legend has it that “the devil plucked up the Baobab, thrust its branches into the earth, and left its roots in the air.”

It was love at first sight. I had only ever encountered their name in a childhood book that left a profound impression on me—Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. A story that sparked countless childhood dreams and carried my imagination to uncharted destinations. Who could have known that, years later, I would be utterly captivated by the Baobabs I discovered in Zanzibar? The moment I saw them, I recognized them instinctively, despite having no prior knowledge of the local flora. I found myself on a quest, scanning the landscape for every one of these majestic trees I could glimpse in the distance.

Enchanted, I felt compelled to uncover what made Baobabs so extraordinary. Was it their immense size, their astonishing shapes, or the sense of mystery they evoked? Perhaps it was a bit of everything… 

The Baobab tree holds cultural significance in many African cultures, where it’s considered a symbol of strength, life, and community. Some cultures plant trees for important life events like births or to honor ancestors, as a symbolic act of celebration or for paying respect.

Stitching, weaving, and painting with color are my ways of honoring the magical beauty of these majestic trees. Baobabs are a vital source of shelter and sustenance, providing nutritious fruit for countless animals, reptiles, insects, and bats. They store water in their trunks, sustaining elephants during dry seasons, and their edible leaves play a key role in various herbal remedies. 

Each piece I created in this series captures a fragment of this story, hoping to honor and preserve the legacy of these ancient trees, some of which - like the recently collapsed Namibian “Grootboom” - have lived for over 1,275 years, according to Africa Geographic.

- Leila Jabre Jureidini

About the artist

Leila Jabre Jureidini was born in Lebanon in 1963 and is currently based in Beirut. After studying graphic design at the ESAG in Paris, she obtained a degree in Fine Arts and Communications Design from Parsons the New School of Design in New York. Jureidini also studied sociology and anthropology at the Sorbonne University, and has worked as a designer for many years both in France and in the USA. 

“Baobab – The Tree of Life” is the fourth solo exhibition for the artist with Galerie Janine Rubeiz, following her three solo shows: “Fragments” in 2012, “Freedom Fighters” in 2019, and “Filiation” in 2023. She also took part in several group exhibitions with the gallery: “Clin d’oeil” (2014), “October 17, 2019” (2019), “Beirut 2020” (2020), “Visions of Today” and “Wajihāt” (2021), “Celebrating Painting” (2022), and “30 Years of Color” in 2023. Jureidini also held an exhibition alongside Virginie Corm, titled “The Undoing” in 2014, and participated in “Abstraction Actuelle”, a panorama of abstract painting in Lebanon, curated by Saleh Barakat at the 2023 Beiteddine Art Festival.

Since 2008, Leila Jabre Jureidini’s work has been included in several collective exhibitions in London, Paris and Beirut, such as Artspot RMB Gallery, Beirut Art Fair, Parallax Art Fair, Sursock Museum’s 30th and 31st Salon d’Automne, where she received a ‘’Mention Spéciale du Jury’’ in 2012. Her work in sculpture is also part of the Sursock Museum’s collection, where it was shown as part of the display of its permanent collection, after the museum’s reopening in 2015. Her latest work in tapestry is housed by several prominent collections such as the Barjeel Art Foundation’s where one of her kilims was featured in the “Women’s Work” exhibition in 2024, and the Dalloul Art Foundation’s, where two other kilims were part of the “Hope in an Age of Dystopia” exhibition, also in 2024.