The research conducted at the beginning of the graduation year revolved around the indeterminate forces that shape the built environment, resulting in the formation of many ‘ephemeral’ cities along the new silk road. As such, the main outcomes from the research stage resided in the definition of the leftover spaces of intensive industrial exploitation: ‘dead’ landscapes are understood as the results – and eventual symptoms – of indeterminacy surrounding both the natural state of the site under study (an open-air coal mine), coupled with intensive anthropogenic exploitation of its resources. These dead landscapes dictate the conceptual approach adopted to deal with the territory both as a constructed industrial whole, in addition to many fragmented instances of indeterminacy.

The proposed graduation project takes inspiration from the Borders & Territories conceptual, practical, and theoretical frameworks as a base for research and design. The studio topic “Transient Liquidities along the New Silk Road” is heavily¬¬ in line with the proposed graduation topic, as it investigates conditions of formation of postindustrial landscapes in Turkey, a result of varying demands and rich natural resources along the new silk road. Turkey is then at the forefront of rapid transformations, made possible by its complex infrastructural landscape and abundance of natural resources.

This paper examines the conditions of Contemporary art production in Lebanon, triggered by two distinct historical events: firstly, the Civil War that spanned from 1975 till 1990, and secondly the October 2019 revolution. These events act as catalysts for art production, inspiring generations of artists, creatives, and thinkers, allowing them to produce period-specific art in Lebanon and the region. What is primordial to note, here, is that these two events had almost contradictory outcomes: the first provided artists with the unique opportunity to reflect and critique a peculiar reality, while the second inspired a whole population to express its collective frustration and imagination. In order to explore the previous statements, the following research question is the central focus of this narrative: How did contemporary art evolve simultaneously with historical events in Lebanon from 1940 to 2020? Could the paradigm shift in collective expression provide a new argument in favor of the exclusivity and agency of art production in the country? It seems likely that, after the recent succession of political and cultural happenings in the country, we are arriving at a place where Art is unconsciously becoming an instrument for all. In order to answer this research question, the adopted methodology will consist of a three-dimensional approach that will comprise the following: Firstly, I shall research the importance and relevance of art as a tool for social and political critique, and its role in society as an agent of expression and change in accordance with the overruling paradigm of each historical period. Then, I shall compare the Lebanese population’s status quo with the evolution of a primordial public space – Martyr’s Square – that clearly mirrors contextual Political and Artistic circumstances of respective times. Lastly, I shall select and analyze relevant pieces of contemporary art that clearly critique and respond to these previously mentioned periods, demonstrating how historical happenings have generated specific artistic styles and methods that are strongly vernacular and expressive. This methodological approach shall be the base of three emphatic arguments points.