The Spring issue of BlackFlash (43:1) includes an artist profile that I wrote, entitled "Joyce Joumaa: Prologue to Future Possibilities." The occasion for this profile was Joumaa's exhibition "Prologue" at the Galerie UQO in Gatineau, Quebec, which ran from January 21, 2026 to February 21, 2026. The profile offers a capsule survey of Joumaa's previous body of work in order to provide context for an interpretation of the works on view at Galerie UQO.
Although Joumaa has tackled a range of geopolitical issues, a major focus of her investigations has been Lebanon and its history. The exhibition can be understood as a prologue to a deeper understanding of historical conflict in the region and the way it has been represented to the public. Considering her other work, I identify a common aesthetic strategy employed by the artist: By leaving deliberate gaps between (and even within) related elements, Joumaa compels viewers to fill in the blanks by traversing the space of their installation, taking a closer look, and participating in the accretion of knowledge.
