Shukran Faransa! (Thank You France!)
- 60 Minutes of Not Seeing and Not Hearing -
2007 | metal (15x5x4cm), metal frame (50x38x5cm),
mini-dv tape, paper
by Ala' Younis
In 2006, Israeli bombings left Lebanon with torn bridges and
disconnected regions which led several countries to provide
relief assistance. France installed temporary, narrow, heavy-metal
bridges to replace some of those that had been ruined by the
war. It was during my first personal encounter with these
metal aids that my Lebanese friends, who had grown accustomed
to crossing such essential yet make-shift connections, started
to mockingly say: Shukran Faransa! (Thank you France!) I keep
thinking about the many meanings that could be read from their
tone…
I found the metal pieces I have used while I was on my way
to collecting the ticket of that trip to Beirut. I picked
up these worthless pieces because they could be interpreted
as being different letters. I thought that the time would
come when I would understand this "metal" coincidence. For
this work, I assembled the pieces to make a bridge that resonated
with the one we crossed that day; so many interpretations
can be made of this one metal structure: a bridge, a spine,
a round of bullets...
I had so many ideas I wanted to explore in a video but I had
no idea about how to execute them. I felt as if speechless...
In order to avoid time-code technical editing problem, I covered
the camera lens, unplugged the microphone, and recorded 60
minutes of mute black footage onto a tape.* With this readied
tape, I am now prepared for any future recording. I felt that
this footage reflects my reaction to past events in the region,
including the war on Lebanon.
* 60 minutes is the average time that is devoted to a detailed
news broadcast, which I silently and unwaveringly watch every
night.
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