The initial interest behind designing this project is related to my interest in languages, but more specifically the colloquial Arabic commonly spoken in the city of Beirut. In it, Beirut is seen as a big digestive tube that ingurgitates everything and anything, and spits it back in a non-formulaic entity, which defies any rule of classification in the conventional understanding of the term; which is a new category in itself altogether (the same way being atheist or not taking sides in politics are a form of belonging); this new category which defines the local visual culture today has the following characteristics:
Hybrid.
Loose.
Eclectic.
Innovative.
Multi-faceted.
It consists of a series of typographic tableaux that represent the city as a digestive tube, in reference to the different linguistic trends that constitute the core of the Lebanese Arabic spoken language, in reference to the colloquial Arabic language having integrated words coming from Italian, French, and English. The second one refers to Beirut as a membrane, due to its geographical location between the Mediterranean sea and the Middle Eastern countries; it acts as a permeable filter between those two cultural entities. The third one refers to Beirut as an eclectic city, in reference to all the strata involved in the formation of its local daily culture. The 4th of this series is a representation of the city as schizophrenic, a trait reveals itself in the ambiguous relation of the citizens towards it, and the way it returns the flavor back; by alternating from being welcoming to sending its children away, another reference to its geographical location, sandwiched between the sea and the mainland. All four tableaux were constructed along seven layers, a hint to the fact that the city was rebuilt 7 times on itself after having been destroyed. The result is a varied and differentiated expression of the sense of place. It transcends the acknowledged borders of the subject, and embodies the more universal values of social interaction and politics within a multilingual society.
