To think that I spent seven years of career, when in Beirut, working -unknowingly- in front of a giant make shift bomb of almost nuclear proportions! My office is on the front line facing Ground Zero at the Beirut Port where 2500 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded on August 4, 2020, tearing my creative space apart, killing more than 200 people & wounding thousands. To think that -had it not been for Covid- I would have been there & most likely wouldn't be applying for this prestigious event, today! Being in Beirut is 'living' dangerously, not knowing how many more explosives are hidden out of sight be it in warehouse, basement, airport, public space or dense residential area! As such, living in Beirut is tantamount to 'Living in a Bomb', a ticking bomb, ready to blow up, anytime, anyhow, anywhere... destroying my people's lives.
I have my sources for reject computer parts & used Nespresso pods, I am compelled to collect them for their inherent indestructible beauty...the same goes for cardboard, & other waste materials, where possible. A gutted computer box almost looks like a giant sophisticated bomb. The puppet like figure made out of wire mesh & flattened pods symbolises a manipulated nation of mundane consumers, unaware of the lurking danger that surrounds them.
This work is a cry for help, an attempt to raise awareness on the hazards that menace my country as it agonises today.
