Ayman Baalbaki (Lebanese, b. 1975)

Digging into Lebanon's underlying and dark psyche, Ayman Baalbaki's works tackle the artist's own acute sense dislocation, dismemberment and devastation as a result of his experiences during the Lebanese Civil War. With the recent conflicts in Lebanon reviving these traumatic memories felt by his generation, Baalbaki uses the icon of the destroyed building as a metaphorical centerpiece of this experience; a universal indication of war.

The present work is a poignant representation of violence and destruction, of loss and disorder. These two buildings, burnt and decaying, remain deserted, without the trace of life. They speak of ghostly memories standing as skeletons of buildings abandoned by force, a testament to the physical and psychological destruction of their residents.

In his use of dark greys and earthy tones, the viewer is transported into this massive sense of destruction, but as the blue sky dazzles in the background, these buildings also tell the tale of resistance as they stand, proudly bearing their visual scars and speaking loudly of their ordeal. Although they are both portrayed as decimated and in ruins; the symbols they hold are revered: the hope for social and political progress, humanity and peace.