Photomed Opening at Station, New Exhibition Space in Beirut
Standing in the center of the spartan room with white brick walls and cement floor, the viewer, silent or whispering, concentrated or busy scrolling through smartphone, discovers the videos brought to Photomed by the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris. The Station is suited for the installation, and the space allows viewers to experience three of the four videos in a 360-degree setting.
Inside, one of the films shows a watermelon rolling inexorably towards its final destination: the bursting of its red flesh on the steps of a Seoul staircase. Spanish filmmaker Marie Bovo introduces us to an oval-shaped, grotesque and awkward character before we pass through a black curtain into a smaller room within the projection room to watch an extract from the film Antépénultième by the Lebanese artist Alain Kantarjian. The story follows one of the country’s unknown communities: fishermen from the port of Daoura who live and fish near a mountain of trash. It’s a shame that the film is sometimes difficult to hear, but soundproofing a space like Station is difficult, as Simon Edwards, deputy artistic director of the festival, acknowledges: “There’s always an element of chance, but from a technical standpoint, the real challenge was getting the images to appear sharp on the walls.”
FESTIVAL
Photomed
January 17 – February 16, 2014
Beirut
Lebanon
http://www.festivalphotomed.com/index.php/lib/Photomed
