Lucien Samaha is uneasy about Beirut. Sadly, for more than thirty years there has been plenty to be uneasy about in the city that once upon a time was known as the “Paris of the Middle East.” The exhibition “Lucien Samaha is Uneasy About Beirut,” currently in its final week at the Sara Tecchia Roma New York gallery, showcases Samaha’s haunting imagery from the capital of war torn Lebanon. Since 1975, this beleaguered country has witnessed a 15+ year Civil War, been used a proxy battleground by both neighboring countries and global powers, and still teeters on the brink of plunging back into chaos as sectarian strife continues.
The artist, who was born in Beirut and now resides in the United States, used a mix of film and digital processes to obtain the eerie images of a city that has been repeatedly pushed to the brink. Grainy, foreboding street scenes take on the weight of history amidst the bombed out buildings of this once peaceful and prosperous place.
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