INVISIBLE BORDERS BEIRUT-BERLIN

A project-installation by Andrea Monras that revisits Beirut and Berlin today in relation to their similar tumultuous paths

July 04, 2017 starting 7pm and running until July 10.
Mansion- Zoukak el-Blatt
Beirut, Lebanon

Invisible Borders – Beirut, Berlin” is a project about two cities that have a similar history of division, with a frontline in Beirut and a wall in Berlin. As a result of research and personal experience in both cities, the installation was devised by visual artist Andrea Monras in collaboration with photographer and documentary filmmaker Alfonso Moral and set and graphic designer Miren Oller. Drawing on the parallels between the two cities’ diverse past, the installation, presented at Mansion in Beirut on July 4, also reflects upon the consequences that the conflicts have brought on the urban fabric and population in both places. 

What is the role of memory when one confronts a generation born after the cessation of division with the turbulent past they haven’t personally experienced? What common remnants, both physical and intangible, can be drawn out from both cities? Although very distinct, how similar are Berlin and Beirut when one takes a closer look at their physical, social and psychological wounds almost three decades after the end of an era? How may the bridge between both cities be further reinforced?