Hills of Resilience
The Forgotten Geographies of Lebanon
The vision of tranquility, of calm waters and warm hills. Landscapes shaped by the gentle breeze that precedes disaster, views from past glories and the unknown future of a land between the Mediterranean Sea and holy wars. With an uncontrolled present, violent outbreaks and burning arak on old wounds. The everlasting inflation, the economic collapse, the post-covid depression and the ammonium nitrate that lay unseen for years and years. The blast of Beirut and the left behind refugees.
Land of hummus and Cedar trees, of ancient cultures and dangerous roads, of one-of-a-kind views and mythical horse races, of golden olive oil and outstanding night life. The cult to german cars and the smell of warm manoushe. All of this, ingredients for hope and joy. Hidden between the sun-burned fields, the green valleys and the busy streets of Beirut I may not only have found the legendary chicken shawarma, but an illusory resilience among the Lebanese people.
Let this few photographs be just an attempt to capture the lights and shadows of Lebanon. Printed to only tell what images can tell, and let your mind inquire about the white space in between each photograph.
Lebanon, the forgotten geographies of a country on the verge of a landslide.
Beirut, September 2023
