Works

Under-Writing Beirut—Nahr (The River)

Multimedia Works (Video, drawings and video Installation)

‘Nahr’ (The River) is the second chapter of “Under-Writing Beirut”. In this ongoing project, I look back, from the present, at the sociological, political and economic history of specific locations in Beirut in order to understand and produce narratives that are meaningful today and insightful into the past.

‘Under-Writing Beirut — Nahr’ includes a video (4 min. 2013) and a series of drawings (2015-2018) entitled ‘The River’ as well as the three-channel video installation ‘After the River (16 min. 2016). It uncovers different facets of Beirut’s river and its surroundings, particularly the area named Jisr el Wati, where I cofounded the non-profit art space Beirut Art Center in 2009.

This area, originally filled with factories and warehouses, built in the 40s, 50s and 60’s, has, since the mid-70s, been a derelict piece of land as it is manifested in its rundown factories, train station, as well as in illegal practices such as prostitution and criminality. It was one of the few remaining unexploited spaces in the capital and has recently witnessed a rapid transformation into a place of interest for art practitioners and high-rise residential development. The river, a dry dumping ground most of the year, acts as a suspended space, allowing me to explore notions of borders and landscape and to reflect on the diverse migrant population that has historically settled along the its banks since 1915, as well as the current gentrification of some of these areas. While defining the eastern edge of the city, the river flowing weakly, both connects and separates Beirut and its suburbs, but as the city extends, this frontier becomes indeterminate. With the ambitious plans to rehabilitate the river, the ever-expanding city, and the influx of refugees and migrants, the future of the river is unknown, as is the coexistence of all the communities living there.

The drawings are based on various maps of Beirut. They depart from the topography of the river then grow organically to take abstract shapes, evoking flowers, bodily organs and cells. The short video is a single sequence shot filmed inside the dry river, combined to a voice over – a poetic account on exile and displacement. ‘After the river’, on the other hand, shows the river and its surroundings from various angles, in an attempt to create a multi-layered, sensorial geography of the place while reflecting on its social history and recent gentrification. The work features a former landowner, construction workers building high-rise edifices as well as Beirut Art Center’s janitor.

The drawings are based on various maps of Beirut. They depart from the topography of the river then grow organically to take abstract shapes, evoking flowers, bodily organs and cells. The short video is a single sequence shot filmed inside the dry river, combined to a voice over – a poetic account on exile and displacement. After the river, on the other hand, shows the river and its surroundings from various angles, in an attempt to create a multi-layered, sensorial geography of the place while reflecting on its social history and recent gentrification. The work features a former landowner, construction workers building high-rise edifices as well as Beirut Art Center’s janitor.