BEIRUT, By Anne Ilcinkas | iloubnan.info - April 13, 2010On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the beginning of Lebanese civil war on April 13, 1975, the associations Umam and Collective Feel present each an exhibition at the Dome (or the Egg) in downtown Beirut.
"Missing” for some, "In a sea of oblivion” for others. The two installations presented at the Dome of Beirut (an area also known as "The Egg") on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the beginning of the Lebanese civil war, both address the same issues: memory and death.
As for "Missing", it is an initiative launched by the association Umam in 2008. At that time, 500 photos of missing persons, gathered from the Committee of Lebanese missing, or even from their own research, are displayed at the Unesco. Then for two years, the exhibition had travelled throughout Lebanon, from Tripoli to Saida, passing through Baalbeck or Deir Al Qamar. Collection of portraits grew bigger with time, thanks to families bringing photos of their missing to Umam center. Today, 650 photographs were collected, and represent an "exhibition in progress", as stated on the official poster of the event. "With these photos, we want to provoke discussion. “Walking between the faces of missing helps to visualize "explains Monika Borgmann from Umam.
War in Lebanon: "A sleeping monster that wakes up from time to time"
Feel Collective also wants to question the audience. The Lebanese group raises a question: why is there no memorial in Lebanon to honor the dead? "In Lebanon, war is like a sleeping monster that wakes up from time to time. The war will be really over on the day when the State decides to do a war memorial to say 'never again', "says Alfred Taraze, from Feel Collective.
The name of the group, Feel, which means "elephant" in Arabic, recalls the animal known for its powerful memory. To recall the horror of war, artists have divided the surface of the first floor’s wall of the Egg into 200 000 squares, in which each Lebanese is invited to write down the name of a victim of the war. "200 000 people have died in violent events. But what does it mean? It’s a word that we don’t really realize its meaning. Therefore we have decided to represent this figure physically, "says Alfred Taraze.
The choice of venue also has a strong symbolic value. Alfred Taraze has obtained permission of Solidere to settle within the Dome. "This is one of the few places that still bear the scars of war in Down Town. It is a cruel monster that Lebanese people have protected after the war. Today, it’s a mystified place to which we grant special affection. It worries, and raises questions. Will it be demolished or not? It has virtually no chance to survive. It’s like others, a simple waiting space. "
As for the date, April 13, it is actually a chance, a "happy” coincidence, rather than a real birthday. "The exhibition Missing is travelling throughout Lebanon for two years now, without any connection with April 13. The issue of missing persons is an ongoing news," said Monika Borgmann. For Alfred Taraze, "it is still unclear when war in Lebanon really began in 1975, or 1960,... For April 13, we had to choose a date, and we had the opportunity to use the Dome for this moment. The artist continues, "For me, there is no end either to war. There were massacres in 1995, attacks, the war of 2006 ... It would be unfair to make a monument dedicated to the dead of the 1975 -1991 period. Doing this, would be like concealing a part of history. The question of the end of the war in Lebanon still arises. "
No comments:
Post a Comment