Blue Building

Overview

Marwan Rechmaoui approaches the methodical study of cartography and urbanisation through works tempered by sensuality and wit. Rechmaoui’s work Blue Building (2015) emerged from an experience with Beirut’s fast-paced real estate development, which arrived at a plot of land across the river from Rechmaoui’s studio. While observing the building’s construction, the artist learned that the development existed in a semi-legal, lax state, in which surrounding trees were cleared without permission and recently arrived refugees were employed as low-wage labourers. As with much new construction in the city, the entire operation was so hastily conceived that when winter rains arrived, the hillside was simply covered with a blue tarp in order to stave off a likely landslide.

The artist references Beirut’s new mise en scène in his composite work of panels that mimic the ubiquitous steel rebar and concrete construction. A play on the hillside developments that have become common in the city, the panels are presented leaning against the wall, featuring an industrial palette of grey and rust accented by a skirt of royal blue.

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 13.