DAMNESIA

A baby sleeps in a crib, a mother watches over the baby. Two portraits hang from the wall behind them; they look like they are the grandparents. A mythological male figure is floating on the opposite wall; his body is covered with needles. All looks fine in the room, except that the people have all lost the color of their natural skin. The whole scene suggests owe and melancholy, but there is a red rose in the mother’s hand and there is a dignifying smile on the faces of the grandparents.

There has been no time in history where Lebanon was not at war, or just out of war, or about to go into a war. The history of Lebanon is the story of invasions, wars and military occupation; it is also the story of totally burning down into ashes and rising up again every time.

DAMNESIA is an invented word; it describes the Lebanese saga. Repetitive invasions, wars, and occupations did scrape the skin of the people, but could never steal from them their dignity.

DAMNESIA is also a picture of the Middle East and North Africa in the year 2011. People everywhere are casting away their fake masks of obedience, to show the world their tortured skin, and to demand their right for freedom.