A new calling card for Lebanon

ARTWALK

If you begin counting, it's not even been eight months since Israel mindlessly bombed Lebanon inside out and upside down.

Yet, more than the physical damage, it's the social fabric that stands in the greatest threat of being ripped apart.

Most people won't have realised this, but Lebanon is home not only to Christians and Muslims but to a whole bouquet of Christianity, not to mention the Druze.

Till date, this diversity has been acknowledged and celebrated. Politically, the powers have been shared, almost consciously. Today, with the complicated political situation, everyone is beginning to ask: why on earth should they be forced to live in such a mess?

With the region polarising, blame is being apportioned on "others" "" well defined by their religious affinity. Lebanon, currently home to many, is being seen as a refuge to a (peaceful) few.

Although many claim the country for themselves, a new identity as the real, legitimate Lebanese is being invented in many corners. Everything "" from small public spaces to political power sharing "" is being claimed in these new terms.

Suddenly, the country is fencing itself off from itself. It is as if the body won't let the eye see the hands. This is Lebanon, fracturing under the diversity that could be its greatest strength.

A hard situation to dive into for any thinking artist, except that a Lebanese group, Aman 05, didn't hesitate. They used their familiarity with advertising to create a multiple site public artwork that appeared like an absurd, sardonic campaign that simultaneously mocked and dissected the idea of religious identity in the 21st century.

The images have now circulated wide enough for people outside Lebanon to know all about this popular campaign there. In that sense, the campaign is not a brand new one, but it's extraordinary for what it pulled off.

Try imagining their acerbic calling cards. A range is created, with the name and religious affinity of the individual. Look at one. It says: Raymond Abiad, Greek Catholic. (Does this exist at all?) Another card reads: Charbel Maroun, Maronite. And so on. You are what you worship.

What if you had such a calling card? How could you relate to it? Would you dare use it?

Another work is a huge banner on the side of a building, where homes are being sold to Druze only. Parking is similarly reserved. It is chillingly like planning ghettos and killing the city.

There is an irony in this, one that likely plays out when it's not intended to. The products of the campaign-visiting cards and banners are designed to mimic similar products.

Consequently, it's easy, in a climate of extremes, to believe that these are intended at face value. But then, there is also disbelief (what! have we fallen to this level?). The unexpected mixing zone of initial belief and confused disbelief moments later is where the real campaign lies.

By using a combination of isolation and identity, Aman05 pinches the viewer awake and shakes them out of a stupor.

In a manner similar to Orwell's 1984, the campaign paints an unnerving picture of "what if...?" That the signs and products are externally generated is also reminiscent of the Soviet-era style of allocated socialisation and experiments to manufacture identity. All these bits-that-won't-fit become a part of this extraordinary art practice.

Public art often operates under everyday conditions "" over-consumption, too much pollution and just like that. That one of the year's most mindless attacks would incite such punch and comment was unexpected but amazing.

I haven't been to Lebanon, but the likely scenario is that this art offers a ready tool to make sense of a bad situation, maybe even negotiate around it.