Home Beirut: War-Torn Cityscapes at MAXXI Rome

The exhibition 'Home Beirut' at MAXXI Rome (2017) explores Beirut as a political and cultural capital, focusing on its urban landscape ravaged by war. Central themes include the destruction of the city, likened to Picasso's Guernica, and the fragmentation of visual culture over forty years of conflict. Artists such as Roy Dib, Paola Yacoub, Mona Hatoum, Akram Zaatari, and Stéphanie Saadé present works that address war, surveillance, memory, and resilience. Dib's installation features long curtains used to shield pedestrians from snipers in Aleppo, while his video 'A Spectacle of Privacy' depicts the artist's condition. Yacoub's photographs document fake rose sellers who were spies during the Syrian occupation, titled 'Le Rose di Damasco.' Hatoum's video reconnects with her absent mother through distance caused by war. Zaatari's 'Beirut Exploded View' shows a dystopian model city built by real estate companies, later destroyed. Saadé's 'A Map of Good Memories' invites visitors to walk on a gold-leaf map, erasing and recreating it. The exhibition also highlights music as a sign of Beirut's vitality and impending reconstruction.