In 1976, towards the beginning of the Lebanese civil war, a group of young people found themselves without activity. These teenagers had neither the means nor the will to fight. They called on the musicians of the Lebanese Army, who had no function during the fights to teach them music. They formed a fanfare and played music in the festive occasions of the village and neighboring villages. This band was the meeting place for several couples. In 1984 a musician from the village disappeared, and this incident broke up the band.
33 years later, in 2017, I asked a married couple, who met each other in the fanfare, to re-play a piece of music for the first time since the interruption of their musical activity, in front of the camera, without any training or rehearsal, on the same drums they were keeping in the attic.
The mastery of the situation that can be seen in the first seconds or minutes of the video is soon replaced by errors, omissions and dissonances.
I invited 5 people who meet very often for a card game 14 (or Rummy), to play the same game but with white cards. Despite their hesitation at first, and without any indication from me about the course and duration of the shooting, the players adapted to the situation and the game lasted more than an hour.
Moussa spent six years of his childhood making little girls' dresses, as a part of the family work. More than forty years passed after he stopped this activity. In September 2017, I asked him to face this machine one more time and make a dress without any training or rehearsal.
2018, found footage, 8mm, loop.
A bride's trousseau is displayed for the public, in her parents' house, few days before the wedding.
The bride to be is showing items of her trousseau. On the left, she shows the jewellry, some are offered by her family, and others by the groom's. On the right, she shows the new nightdresses.
"The war started in the city of... "
is a popular game in Lebanon and it is transmitted from father to son. This country has endured several wars. The children playing this game have not seen nor experienced any kind of violence. They know the rules of the game that is not violent in itself. The offensive is made by speech, by the simple act of declaring war randomly against a city. The attack consists of counting one's steps towards the opponent.
I invited a group of adults to play marbles, a game they used to play during their childhood. They are playing in a small space drawn on the ground as a reminder of the surface of the basement they used to hide in during the war.
I contacted via Skype a group of people from the same village, who shared the same underground shelter during the Lebanese war. Those people met occasionally in the 20 square meters shelter for the duration of 15 years. They described their memories of this period - stories from a peaceful everyday life.
I invited visitors to play cards with me. The cards are all white.
This harmless game is supposed to be played with small pebbles is presented here as dangerous and impossible.
The traditional game of 7 stones meets an additional constraint.
The phone game is supposed to be made with two plastic cups connected by a woolen thread. Here the whole toy is crocheted out of wool.
The sticks in this game must be natural wooden sticks. Here they are replaced with ceramic copies of natural sticks.
Notice of the game "baton étalon"
A plaster powder line divides a neutral space into two distinct territories.
2017. Bird food grains are growing in a fractured tile.
One of the exhibition walls stands on marbles.
A black thread draws on the ground a surface of 20m2 which corresponds to the surface of the shelter. Small clay sculptures are displayed in this surface. They are copies according to the drawings of "Objects". The sculptures are made in a way to preserve the imperfections of the objects drawn.
Objects is a series of 64 ink drawings, copied from original drawings made by those who participated in the video "Mensonges".
Plastic bags build a wall and make a part of the exhibition inaccessible.