It is almost three metres tall, stands upright, and holds a Lebanese flag. This is the statue that pays homage to the people affected by the explosion in a port in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, that took place on August 4^th.

Hayat Nazer, the artist who created the statue, is Lebanese. She came up with the idea of creating artwork connected to the tragedy when she helped clean and repair some of the damage caused by the disaster. She took debris to her studio and placed it on a statue that she had been working on before the explosion.

During the process, Nazer also asked residents, whose homes were destroyed, for objects that they were no longer using. The idea was to place the items on the statue, creating a memorial (a way to remember an event) for those who were impacted. “In my work, I always loved the idea of collaboration — hand in hand, just like how we have to build this country together”, wrote the artist in an article in the newspaper Arab News.

In October, the statue was placed in the port where the tragedy took place. In November, it had to be taken down because vandals had started to destroy other works by Nazer. Now, the idea is to put in a replica of the statue that will be damage-resistant there.

Sources: Arab News, CNN, My Modern Met, and The Indian Express

Questions

1) How did the idea for creating the statue come up?
a) With Nazer picking up pieces from people impacted by the tragedy
b) With Nazer cleaning and repairing areas affected by the tragedy
c) With Nazer finding out about the tragedy on television
d) After Nazer’s works were plundered

2) What do you think about memorials that are built after tragedies?

Ixi! Você bateu no paywall!

Ainda não é assinante? Assine agora e tenha acesso ilimitado ao conteúdo do Joca.

Assinante? Faça Login

Voltar para a home

Ou faça sua assinatura e tenha acesso a todo o conteúdo do Joca

Assine