Waiting for the Barbarians
- AboutWaiting for the Barbarians, 2013
Part 4 of I Stared At Beauty So Much project
Animated photography, sound, multiples sources, video HD format, 4 min 26 sec
Commissioned by the Onassis Cultural Centre for the Visual Dialogues In today’s troubled times of war, recessions and loss of ideals, Contantine Cavafy’s voice through his poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” becomes more relevant than ever, echoing very strongly, resonating in endlessly disintegrating societies, in places where the unexpected always happen and where there is nothing but desire and poetry to counter violence and power.Focusing on the poem, the artists explore panoramic images of Beirut shifting from mobile to immobile, from the general to the constantly excavated detail, the specific.
The works dwell on the time-lag of photographic processes and is made by superimposing more than 50 photos taken at different times, each of them trying to encapsulating different durations. They are full of spatial – and mainly temporal – inconsistencies. Different instants mingle, thus creating impossible images evoking otherworldly visions.
Photography becomes animate through subtle video overlays, creating a tension between stillness and motion, as if time, space and movement were constantly entagled.
Temporalities become over imposed, nature is reversed and many suns appear on multiplied horizons. - Credits
Inspired by the poem of Cavafy: Waiting for the Barbarians Voice over: Bernard Khoury Sound Design: Rana Eid
Studio DBPhoto and video: Khalil Joreige and Joana Hadjithomas Photo-composing: Alexis Gaillard Animation: Noel Paul
Studio Rez Visual
Belal HibriSound: Karine Basha - Other Installations
