Acclaimed Australian photographer Paul Blackmore’s series New Beirut shows a city and its people in celebration, providing a different view of Beirut and shifting perception on a city that after years of civil war evokes thoughts of conflict and devastation rather than beach parties and glamor. In the New Beirut women and men are obsessed with appearance, and plastic surgery and beauty parlors do brisk business. Designer labels and European cars are just some of the trappings of the nouveau riche who now promenade through the city’s streets, and along the Mediterranean shoreline, resplendent in their reclaimed freedom.
Blackmore’s images capture the vibrancy of a city that is emerging as a creative hub in which art, fashion, and gastronomy thrive. Luxury shopping malls now rise where historical buildings once stood as Beirut rushes to catch up with its neighbors, and to shake off the patina of war. Blackmore’s images present the New Beirut in all its consumerist glory.
EXHIBITION
New Beirut
Until 22 June 2013
Stanley Street Gallery
1/52 – 54 Stanley Street Darlinghurst
Sydney
Australia
