«The Fountain» is a project that delves into the issue of water scarcity in Lebanon, specifically in Beirut. The title reflects the tendency of the Lebanese people to romanticize any creative solution devised to address challenges within the country. In this context, the project romanticizes the concept of the fountain and the sentimental and decorative aesthetics associated with it.
The project envisions the water truck as an evolved version of the traditional water fountain. Unlike conventional water fountains that lost their functionality with urbanization, these water trucks have retained and evolved to fulfill the essential need for water. They serve as mobile fountains, moving throughout the city, yet their existence often goes unnoticed, seamlessly blending into the urban fabric.
«The Fountain» challenges the normalization and familiarity we have developed towards these water trucks. It prompts a reconsideration of their significance, encouraging observers to recognize and engage with the evolving role these mobile fountains play in addressing water scarcity in the urban landscape
The Beginning: Printmaking In 2020, I participated in an art residency at Beirut Printmaking Studio, where I had the opportunity to attend a masterclass led by Bernard Miguelle. During the residency, the studio was invited to create works responding to the theme of water for . Given the summer heat and the daily struggle with water shortages, I found the water truck to be the perfect representation of this theme.
This led to the creation of "Fountain 1", my first print for the project, which marked the beginning of a deeper exploration of water scarcity in the city.
Production and editioning of the prints was only possible with the support of Beirut Printmaking Studio and Fundació Miró Mallorca
fountain 1
mezzotint on cupper printed on cotton paper
23.5 x 23.5 cm
2022
Zambateeti Fountain
Mezzotint on copper printed on cotton paper
Matrix size 9 x 12 cm
Paper size 27 x 27 cm
2023
Fountain 2
Mezzotint on cupper printed on cotton paper
24 x 32 cm
Aquatint and roullette on copper printed on cotton paper
3 matices app. 13 x28 cm each
Paper 78,5 x 53,5cm.
2023
Aquatint and roullette printed n cotton paper
2 matrices 20 x 20 cm & 10 x 15 cm aprox.
Paper 78 x 54 cm
2023
Mezzotint on copper printed on cotton paper
Matrix 49,5 x 24,5 cm
Paper 76 x 54 cm
2023
Aquatint and Etching on copper printed on
cotton paper
Matrix 10 x 13,5 cm
Paper 28 x 30 cm
2023
Monoprint
2024
Untitled
Aquatint and roullette on copper printed on cotton paper
Matrix 22 x 42 cm
Paper 54 x 78 cm
2023
Drypoint on tetra pack printed on cotton paper
11.5 x 22 cm
2022
Untitled
Aquatint and roullette on copper printed on cotton paper
Matrix 22 x 42 cm
Paper 54 x 78 cm
2023
Exhibition View:
Support for Lebanese engravers, FONDATION TAYLOR, Paris, France
2022
Biennale Internationale Destampe Contemporaire de Trios Riviere, Quebec, Canada
2023
The Golden Chicken wall ( fountain 7)
Commissioned for Wood Street Walls
Works On Paper:Travel Souvenirs
Travel Cards
The Fountain: An Urban Landscape
In The Fountain: An Urban Landscape, I isolate the fountain within an urban context, emphasizing its presence in the city. This work explores the complexity of an alternative water system that operates above ground, contrasting with conventional water infrastructures typically hidden below.
This installation was created during my AIR Beirut residency with the Saradar Foundation and was specifically tailored for Morsure #3 at L'Archipel, curated by Sabine Delaheut.
2023
The Fountain: Landscape
In The Fountain: Landscape, I collected a handful of painted canvases from the Sunday flea market in Beirut and disrupted their landscape by inserting water trucks. I challenges present day water scarcity across the country by foregrounding the signifier, which has become a substitute for real water infrastructure in Lebanon. Then i will make these paintings available for sale at that same market and for the same price as the ones i had originally bought, recirculating the tampered canvases into people's homes.
Working Title: The Fountain: Landscape
Mixed media (wooden panels, oil paintings, acrylic paintings, watercolor paintings, editioned print, metal frame, wooden frames, butter paper, masking tape, Screws)
250 cm x 250 cm
2023-present
Close Up Shots:
The Fountain: Landscape is a work in progress, originally intended to be exhibited in the same setup as in his studio
Painting
Untitled
Acrylics on linen canvas
00 cm x 00cm
2023
NTG
Acrylics on linen canvas
00 cm x 00cm
2023
Acrylics on linen canvas
00 cm x 00cm
2023
Road Signs:
The Urban Fountain
In a time when climate change is creating a global water crisis we are rich with a resource that is predicted to become more valuable than gold, yet we pollute and destroy one of the very few resources that we have in abundance. Our today is a hyper-realist vision of the future for the rest of the world where clean fresh water is a commoditised luxury fewer and fewer people will be able to afford.
I present Water as an item that it is the ultimate symbol of status, wealth and power.
Mixed material
3m diameter by 2.7m height
2022
This installation was commissioned for “imagine that tommorrow” exhibition curated by Marc Mouarkesh and Rabih Kousa for the INBETWEEN festival by British Council Lebanon
Life Size Fountain
Mural Installation for Black Sun, White Mountains at Skanes konstforenin
This installation was commissioned for Black Sun, White Mountains at Skanes konstforenin ,curated by George Chamoun