Neon Lit Skies - Fire at the Port
"A space presented here as purgatory in neon"
These pieces were exhibited in Haven For Artists' Online Exhibition
A month after the August 4th, 2020 explosion, a fire started at the port which triggered instantaneous trauma and anxiety for most of Beirut's population. After things calmed down, I chose to walk down to the port in order to take a few pictures. People were triggered, my friends and family had been calling me, and texting me to make sure I was alright, and it resulted in the phone running out of battery not 10 minutes after I had arrived. I opened my laptop and plugged in the phone charging cable, but it took way too long so instead, I used my laptop’s camera with the thermal effect to take more pictures. The dark cloud of ash filling the sky turned into neon colours that made the scene somewhat more bearable. A crimson red sky bothered by miscellaneous yellow, and green smoke with seeping hints of turquoise.
Thermal cameras detect temperature by recognizing and capturing different levels of infrared light. The temperatures of the bodies present in the photo collided with the surrounding objects and buildings, separating them from the intruder in the image, the port and the smoke, or the grain silos, that the lens deemed a different alien element. Witnessing this view of the port on fire, taken through the laptop’s thermal effect, resulted in images that seemed less emotional, less personal to me, and these images helped me distance myself from the trauma that is so interconnected with the realistic images of the port blast that are being circulated in the media.
I’m livid that I can’t grow in a space that’s molding over me instead of around me. Because I am exhausted, I have become more solemn than angry. Solemn because the consequences of unforgivable neglect have led to our tactical surroundings to no longer exist. Physical spaces that remind us of emotional spaces that we now need to carry, without support, without infrastructure, and without an end in sight. When the physical space causes you pain, harm, and trauma you forget about the fond experiences that come with them as well. This pattern of trauma is an intrusive act that has taken physical and emotional space. A space presented here as purgatory in neon.
