The World in the Image of Man, Lebanon Pavilion

Video artist Danielle Arbid and visual artist Ayman Baalbaki will represent Lebanon in “The World in the Image of Man,” on view at the 59th Venice Biennale. The show, presented by the Lebanese Visual Art Association and curated by Nada Ghandour, will comprise a video by Arbid, “Allô Chérie” (2022), and a monumental installation by Baalbak, “Janus Gate” (2022). The works will maintain an aesthetic dialogue between these two artists and places in light of the political, social, and economic crisis which Lebanon has faced since 2019 and the uncertainty which the world has faced over the past two years. This borderless theme is embodied in the polysemic, cosmopolitan city of Beirut; it is fitting that the exhibition will take place in the halls of the Arsenale, which closely recall the raw ruins of the Lebanese urban landscape. The show’s scenographer, Aline Asmar d’Amman, has stated that “the choice of such radical actions and scenographic materials expresses a desire for sobriety in response to the country’s current situation.”