NASCENT LEBANESE PHOTOGRAPHY – Espace Saint Nazaire (Sanary)
Joanna Andraos, Emile Issa, Mazen Jannoun, Ghady Smat, Caroline Tabet, Tanya Traboulsi, Lara Zankoul
By inviting Lebanon this year, the directors of Photomed have opened the doors to a young, emerging and promising photography. This little country on the shores of the Mediterranean has set photography – art and profession – firmly in its cultural, economic and university life, for almost all Lebanese faculties teach photography in the context of their audiovisual programmes. Publishers, cultural centres, art galleries frequently propose the works of Lebanese and international photographers. Highly qualified photographic and production studios, respond to the commercial demand from Lebanon and the Middle East. Our selection for the festival Photomed 2013 is an example of the creative diversity of Lebanese photography. We have chosen seven young artists, living and working today in Lebanon, among dozens of others who, we hope will have the occasion in future to present their work through the cultural exchanges developed between both our countries. The young pessimistic and critical generation proposed, focuses on enriching the nation’s cultural life and cultivates the hope of a stable post-war society in search of a civil identity, justice and freedom following the still visible human and intellectual heartbreak. Thus, Caroline Tabet is “sightless”, as she observes a city that she has yet to tame, letting her blurred gaze wander during a stroll in measured time. With his departure from Canada and return to Lebanon, Emile Issa seeks out this same city in the shadows and in the gestures of a beautiful yet ghostly woman in the midst of a dilapidated decor. Tanya Traboulsi plunges into a cold and weary solitude and sees herself as if in a mirror which accompanies her day and night. Mazen Jannoun captures the social contrasts, all along the Lebanese coast, revealing a joyous yet taciturn and realistic simplicity. Ghadi Smat flies over the extraordinary and unexpected aspects of the city. Lara Zankoul, in her universe of symbols, searches for a better world and explores her young woman’s dream in imaginary settings. Joanna Andraos penetrates a 19th century palace in Beirut, haunting it with her macabre extras, tragic witnesses of time passing. The universes presented here focus on wandering or staged personae. This nascent Lebanese photography is rich with promise and is about to take its place in the country’s cultural landscape.
Tony Hage
Curator
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| Stalker 2010 © Joanna Andraos | “Tcup 8” 2012 © Lara Zankoul | Shadows Project 2012 © Emile Issa |
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| De la série “Watercolor” 2012 © Mazen Jannoun | De la série “Perdre la Vue” 2012 © Caroline Tabet | “Seules” 2012 © Tanya Traboulsi |
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