Lebanese artist Jad El Khoury has developed a reputation for livening up forgotten buildings, remnants of Lebanon’s Golden Age from before the Civil War.
His latest project, “Manchafet El Baher,” takes over Batroun’s unfinished aquarium –` a futuristic concrete skeleton that was meant to have been part of the now-abandoned Maritime Cultural Center complex.
Designed by architect Nicolas Yazigi to resemble an alien seashell, the cylindrical tower perched on the seafront is the most striking feature of the derelict site. It was designed to house fish tanks dedicated to Mediterranean marine life, as well as a dolphinarium on the top floor.
Khoury’s installation displays 124 bright beach towels, hung up to dry in summer breeze.
“The towels of various colors and patterns suspended along the spiraling ramp in the structure emphasize its swirling circular motion,” Khoury said. “As they sway with the wind, they animate the building on both the visual and auditory levels, conveying positivity and life and instilling a feeling of serenity, joy and hope, especially during these difficult times.
“The installation also sheds light on the vision we had before the war and questions the lack of public cultural and scientific centers in the present.”
Khoury’s aquarium intervention is a follow-up to similar installations at the Holiday Inn, downtown Beirut’s City Centre cinema (aka “The Egg”) and his Burj al-Murr installation, which won him Venice’s 2019 Arte Laguna Prize for Urban and Land Art, as well as residencies in Italy and Norway.
“The materials [used at the aquarium] are the same I used in the Burj al-Murr project two years ago, where I hung traditional-style balcony curtains on the empty tower windows,” he told The Daily Star. “When the wind blew through, it made the fabric dance and transformed the building from one that reminded people of the Civil War to one that promoted positivity.”
The construction of Batroun’s MCC project began in 1968. It was also meant to include a maritime educational center, a housing block, an administrative building, a fish farming center, a conference room and a domed planetarium.
The project was abandoned due to political squabbles, compounded by the onset of the 1975-90 Civil War. A renovation planned during the ’90s reconstruction period came to nothing and the complex stands largely forgotten. The demolition of the crumbling complex was discussed in 2017 but never accomplished.
The complex is now sealed but curious adventurers sometimes find their way inside. Architect and researcher Gioia Sawaya spent three years trying to uncover the site’s secrets.
“Back in 2017, I used to put a ladder and sneak into the building to take measurements and photos, since I was working on the building for my final year project,” Sawaya told The Daily Star. “I used to do it when the concierge was not there, since it was completely banned to enter the space.
“I was looking for the maps, which belonged to the Agriculture Ministry,” she added, lamenting that such little information about the place still exists on record. “They told me that they had burned [in a fire at the architect’s studio] so I had to draw them myself. It’s a beautiful structure and a shame that it’s not being preserved.”
The aquarium has now been open to the elements for about 50 years, and the salty sea spray is rusting the metal in the reinforced concrete.
“The cement has started to crack, especially in the ceilings, where bits are falling off,” Khoury observed. “Right now, there is the chance to save it and fix it up because the damage is horizontal, not in the vertical foundation pillars, so can be repaired.
“I’ve been planning and thinking about this project for six months. Coronavirus started in the middle of my plans and I wasn’t sure if I should wait till next year,” he added, “but with the lifting of lockdown and people going to beaches I thought it was the right time. People have been asking about it and everyone is on the beach [next to it] so it’s getting attention.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
