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Lebanese Artist Created Glass And Rubble Statue From The Beirut Port Explosion

There is one particular Lebanese artist named Hayat Nazer who uses her ability and also creativity to channel her grief and also pain that she has suffered all this while. She stated that she clearly does not remember a particular time when Lebanon was ever at peace. She has channeled all her feelings into very beautiful works of art that she made.

According to Hayat Nazer story, she was on her way to Beirut on the 4th of August when suddenly a massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate exploded at the particular port. This action had killed 190 people, injuring more than 6,000, and also leaving more than 300,000 people got displaced from their own homes.

Lebanon has faced a lot of problems for months because of the political turmoil, economic collapse, and also a worsening coronavirus outbreak. The weight of it all had nearly paralyzed the small country. Hayat Nazer stated that “The explosion broke my heart. I was just devastated. I was traumatized, but honestly, all of us in Lebanon are traumatized”.

She has joined her community to clean debris and restore the city to its former glory. That’s when she got the idea to use some of what she found to create a statue that could inspire her people to unite and rebuild. She said, “When I’m feeling that way I just try to help and fix and heal through art, so this is my way of accepting reality and trying to build my people back up”.

For many weeks, Hayat Nazer walked on the streets of Beirut just to collect twisted metal, broken glass, and also people’s discarded belongings so that she can use them in the sculpture she wanted to make. She stated, “I traveled to people’s homes after they were destroyed by the explosion and told them, ‘I just want you to give me anything I can include to make you a part of my sculpture”.

She also added, “I was shocked. People gave me such valuable things, things from their childhood, their grandparents who died in the civil war, things they wanted to save for their children. So many emotions went into this”. When Hayat Nazer finally had enough items, she then put them together and creating a woman raising Lebanon’s flag, her hair, and dress flowing in the wind. The particular sculpture even features a damaged clock stuck at 6:08 which would be the moment of the particular explosion that happened there.

Hayat Nazer said, “After an explosion, you can build back homes and buildings, but what you can’t bring back our memories. And throughout Lebanon’s history, our government removes anything that reminds us of what has been done to us”. She also added, “That’s what makes this project so special. It’s fighting. We’re raising our voices through art. We’re telling our own stories”.

Sources: CNN News.

Adib Mohd