The city that exploded slowly (2009)

In her own photo-text series, Leslie Hakim-Dowek attempts to map out a personal “archaeology” encompassing the Lebanese Civil War (1975_1990) and exile. A parallel is drawn between a personal tale and the many transformations of Beirut from a magical place to a war-torn no-man’s land and finally to become a totally sanitized urban space. A process of mental mapping is delineated marking the sites of violence, personal trauma and the ever-shifting boundaries in a city seen in a constant process of erosion and dissolution.