In the 2021 series Nostalgia, Lebanese painter and visual artist Inaya Fanis Hodeib embarks on a deeply personal journey, intertwining memory and material culture. The series comprises 24 untitled watercolor paintings that resurrect everyday objects from 1980s and 1990s Lebanon – items like Nido milk cans, Bazooka gum wrappers, and Ramek cheese tins. Rendered entirely from memory, these depictions embrace imperfections, mirroring the fragmented nature of recollection.

Born in Beirut in 1983, Hodeib's formative years were shaped by the aftermath of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), an experience that instilled in her a profound sensitivity to themes of loss and impermanence. The series Nostalgia – created amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the personal loss of her father – serves as a tender reflection of Hodeib’s emotional landscape. The act of painting becomes a meditative process, a way to cope with grief and preserve the intangible connections that bind past and present. The series stands as a tribute to her late father, whose passing profoundly shaped her artistic direction.

Hodeib’s choice of watercolor is significant, not only for its fluidity and transparency but also for its inherent ability to convey impermanence and fragility. Each brushstroke is layered with deliberate softness, allowing the pigments to bleed and pool, evoking the fading nature of memory. This technique allows her to articulate both the vividness and the erosion of childhood recollections. In her meticulous copying of objects, Hodeib intentionally embraces imperfection, capturing not only the precise forms but also the subtle distortions and inconsistencies that arise in the act of replication. Hodeib uses the unpredictability of the medium of watercolor and the preciseness of her technique to amplify the sense of fleetingness and the passage of time, transforming ordinary objects into ethereal mementos.

Among the works in the series is a depiction of a used Nestlé Nido full cream powdered milk can. Rendered in vibrant yellows and reds, the can is repurposed as a planter with green chili peppers sprouting from its open top. The Arabic text on the label emphasizes the cultural context, while the minimalistic background draws focus to the can, turning it into a vessel of memory.

Another piece depicts a Ramek processed cheese container, its yellow label bearing bold black and red typography that announces "RAMEK" alongside the Kraft logo and "8 Portions" in both Arabic and English. The packaging is rendered with painstaking detail, each letter meticulously yet imperfectly reproduced, capturing the inconsistencies typical of vintage labels. The slightly worn container, with its subtle creases and watercolor washes, evokes the passage of time, underscoring how once insignificant objects can become touchstones of nostalgia.

A rectangular Bazooka bubble gum pack is also featured, its red, blue, and white colors still vivid despite the slightly worn and imperfect surface. The label prominently reads “ORIGINAL” in slanted white text across a red strip, while “Bazooka” is playfully rendered in alternating red and blue, with “BUBBLE GUM” in a smaller, faded blue font below. The packaging is painted with meticulous yet uneven strokes, capturing subtle imperfections and minor distortions that convey the object’s handling over time.

Through her series Nostalgia, Hodeib underscores the power of art to transform mundane objects into vessels of memory, emotion, and cultural identity, inviting viewers to reflect on their own relationships with objects, memories, and the passage of time.