Fragments, Part of Unpredictable Times, Five Screen Video and Sound Installation, Lebanon, France, 2024.

Fragments was selected by the patronage commission of la Fondation des Artistes, which gave it its support.

Fragments is a poetic and immersive 5-channel video and sound installation, created as part of the larger project Unpredictable Times, which also includes the film Behind the Shield. Filmed with a Dash Cam installed on the front windshield of Sirine Fattouh’s car in Lebanon from 2018 to 2021, the work transforms the camera from a surveillance device into an observer of the rhythms of a country in flux. The installation captures fragments of everyday life in Lebanon, where banal moments acquire unexpected poetry and rupture with reality. Gradually, the chaotic, oversaturated energy of the city gives way to empty roads and quieter landscapes, allowing new imaginaries to emerge.

This poetic gaze reflects a deeply personal relationship with Beirut—a city that continuously transforms with every conflict, war, or revolution, altering not only its physicality but also its inhabitants' sense of orientation and belonging. The Dash Cam, repurposed as a subjective eye, becomes an extension of the artist’s perspective, tracing the city’s ever-shifting landscapes.

The journey begins in Beirut, just weeks before the 2018 elections. Posters line the streets, and the atmosphere is light, vibrant, and carefree. The rhythmic editing reflects the bustling energy of the city—a way of life that would soon be upended. Subtle cues within the footage, however, hint at an approaching shift. There’s a looming sense that the future is fragile and precarious, as the city carries on, unaware of what is to come: the revolution of 2019, the economic collapse, and the devastating explosion at the Beirut port in 2020.

The final part begins with a rainstorm and transitions into a deserted cityscape, marked by the eerie emptiness of the Covid-19 lockdowns. The vibrancy of the protests fades, replaced by widespread despair. The installation concludes during the winter of 2020. A serene, snow-covered landscape evokes a memory of childhood and happiness—a moment suspended in time, untouched by the chaos of recent years.

In collaboration with sound artist Jean-Jacques Palix, and Nour Sokhon.