The Lebanese civil war broke out on April 13th, 1975, and didn't end until 1991. To commemorate these fifteen miserable years, Lebanese artist Nada Sehnaoui set up an unusual exhibition, which opened on April 13th last year in downtown Beirut. Her idea came from a phrase routinely used by the Lebanese at that time: "Haven't fifteen years of hiding in the toilets been enough?"
As bombings and gun battles raged in the streets, Lebanon's inhabitants would often hide in their bathrooms instead of trudging down to the basement shelters (most buildings are high-rise apartment blocks). They took what comfort they could from their cool marble floors, porcelain bowls, and squatters.
To remember this, Sehnaoui installed six hundred white porcelain toilet bowls in one of the many downtown areas that are being redeveloped after decades of fighting and neglect, and invited the residents of Beirut to sit down on the pans, rest their feet, and contemplate what had taken place. The exhibition ran for two weeks.
Lebanon is yet again at a point where relative peace could be lost. Elections have just ended and the usual suspects -- Hezbollah Shiites, Sunnis, and Christians -- are stirring up the political crap. Maybe Nada should bring back her installation to let the people reflect once again how easy it is for everything to get flushed away down the toilet.
You can find many more pictures here.
