Rana Haddad and Pascal Hachem – Debris of Text and Eyeglasses

Rana Haddad and Pascal Hachem are Lebanese artists and designers, whose installation Debris of Text and Eyeglasses documents the spectacles blown from people’s faces during the Beirut Port explosion of 2020. Walking through the city in the aftermath, the artists photographed each pair of glasses they found in the rubble, noting the date and place they were found. Along with fragments of text, they printed these images on delicate glass panels. The twisted, fractured spectacles – humble items, essential and vulnerable – capture the devastating human impact of the blast and the blind negligence of those in power in Lebanon. 
 
The work is shown alongside an installation by artist Ramzi Mallat entitled Not Your Martyr, in a display entitled ‘Counter-Monuments, Beirut’. Both works use the perceived fragility of glass and the intimacy of the everyday to reflect on the impact of the Beirut explosion five years on. 

Supported by the V&A’s Jameel Programme