THE MEASUREMENT OF CHANGE, WE CALL TIME
Being a resident at BAR in Beirut in 2019, I started a dialogue with the city, its people, its secrets and the breathtaking history, the food, the arts, the noises and voices - and the conversation didn’t stop. So indeed Beirut has a place in my heart and I feel somehow connected to the city, which was my home for some weeks.
Walking down the vibrant streets of this lively, dynamic but also wounded city, I was constantly observing and interacting with nature. I can’t even imagine the damage, death and brutality of the August 4th explosion. When thinking of this project, I had to remember what Beirut taught me the most: That there is always life and growth where you would least expect it.
Plants emerge from ruins and cracks in the streets, inactive construction sites and abandoned houses. This is how nature becomes another proof of Lebanon's history, as it always finds its path for growth. Pollen and seeds, finding their way to merge into life, split away from the old and begin a new life that is little known but nevertheless so strong. It tells its own story about memory and time, both immortal but constantly moving.
To express my deep belief that Beirut will come back with force again, I made a 12 piece edition as a tribute to wounds that will heal, that memories are the connection to our fears and strengths and that we mainly need to find out how to use these energies in order to move on and resurge - like nature’s pollen and seeds.
The technique I used was an embossment on found paper from the 60s. Imitating the tiles of the middle east as the ground to spread the seeds. By walking on the tiles one picks up the seeds on their feet and shoes spreading new life. It consists of a few torn papers, which reflect the layers of the fragile but deeply rooted city.
“The measurement of change, we call time”
Edition of 12
