Lamia Joreige: Under-Writing Beirut
Research about the area around the National Museum, at the former Green Line, which divided Beirut throughout the Lebanese Wars.
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Lamia Joreige:
Under-Writing Beirut - Mathaf, 2013
Mixed media installation
Of the museum's collection, it seems that it is impossible to find out which objects went missing during the wars. It appears that the museum had no comprehensive inventory of its collection prior to the outbreak of the wars. (…) Among the thousands of pieces from the collection in storage, the only object that was made accessible to me was the 'Good Shepherd Mosaic', possibly because it will soon be displayed to the public.
This mosaic could not be protected during the wars and remains impossible to fully restore because of its vertical positioning. The mosaic bears a hole, believed to have been made strategically by a sniper. The hole provided the sniper with a line of sight onto the Mathaf-Barbir crossing and immediate surroundings. It has now been sealed off but the outline of the cavity remains visible. By reenacting the sniper's line of sight, 180 Degree Garden View puts us in the position to imagine what the sniper saw and whom he may have killed through the hole. (…)
Object of War, on the other hand, is the negative of the sniper hole cast as a concrete sculpture.
(From the project's booklet)
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation
Presentation at Sharjah Biennial 11
13 March - 13 May 2013
Building of the Sharjah Islamic Bank
© Photo: Haupt & Binder
Research about the area around the National Museum, at the former Green Line, which divided Beirut throughout the Lebanese Wars.