Lebanon's 10 Best Contemporary Artists and Where to Find Them — theculturetrip.com

Lamia Joreige, an artist and filmmaker, is inspired by Lebanese history and explores the representation of war and its aftermath, particularly in Beirut. The essence of her practice lies in the concept of time – its recording, its traces and effects – as well as its role in delineating memory and the impossibility of constructing a complete narrative. ‘Objects of War No.3’ (2006), in the collection at the Tate in London, is a single-channel video installation that ‘examines the ways in which memory and trauma come to be embodied in material objects, sublimating the psychological effects of past conflict.’ The artist seeks to present an alternative history to the one provided by mainstream media and records personal experiences and stories that would otherwise be forgotten. The photographic series ‘Nights and Days’ (2007) is based on videos and notes taken during the war of summer 2006 and expresses the passage of time and the transformations brought about by war. It juxtaposes notions of ‘beauty’ versus ‘horror’. In her film Here and Perhaps Elsewhere (2003), Joreige draws a personal map of Beirut through the memories of people she encounters and talks to on her journey along the invisible Green Line, which historically divided Beirut between East and West and was the site of military checkpoints and the scene of many kidnappings. Joreige represented Lebanon at the 52nd Venice Biennale (2007), with the interactive video installation Je d’Histoire (2006)

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