collection - Sharjah Art Foundation

A Monument for the Living is a replica of a highrise in downtown Beirut that was never completed and only served as a strategic military location during the Lebanese civil war.

Artwork Details

Artist Marwan Rechmaoui
Title A Monument for the Living
Date 2001
Medium Casted cement
Dimensions 230 x 60 x 40 cm

Overview

A Monument for the Living is a replica of a highrise in downtown Beirut that was never completed and only served as a strategic military location during the Lebanese civil war. It is a thirty four story building with seven underground levels and five hundred and ten windows. Although the building was never completed, it was originally built as a commercial centre and eventually served as a jail during the Lebanese civil war. The cells where the hostages were held were on the lower levels and guarded by various militias - whichever was in control of the building at the time. Being a highly strategic point, the upper levels were used by snipers. Ten years after the cease-fire, the building is still dysfunctional due to structural defects.

Rechmaoui, Marwan

people

Created from industrial materials such as concrete, metal, rubber, tar, textile, and glass, Marwan Rechmaoui’s work reflects his methodical study of cartography, demographics and urbanisation.

Selections: Territories of Change

exhibitions

This selection of works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection explores themes of migration, borders and shifting landscapes due to social and political change.