Fractions of Memory
Fractions of Memory is the public installation
which took place in Beirut during July and August 2003. The location
was what used to be Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut. Martyrs’
Square was destroyed twice, first by the war, then by the
reconstruction project. Nada Sehnaoui appealed to the public to
participate in the making of the installation by publishing the
following question in the press and on the internet: “Do you have a
memory of daily life in downtown Beirut before the start of the war
in 1975? If you wish to share this memory with the public, please:
write a text recalling this memory, on one white page or more, in
the language of your choice, handwritten or typed, signed or
anonymous, and send this text to the following address…”. 360
structures were constructed using 20 tons of newspaper. Many
structures carried the public's responses to the appeal while other
structures carried blank pages for missing texts and lost memories.
Fractions of Memory
20 Tons of Newspapers
360 Structures
101 Texts
Downtown Beirut, 2003