The image as a site of transgression: the case of Beirut counter-visuality since October 2019

Abstract

ABSTRACTOn 17 October 2019 in Beirut, a Lebanese state bodyguard confronted by demonstrators opened fire when a female protestor hit him with a side kick. Another protestor recorded this moment on his mobile phone. A single frame of the video footage was remediated shortly after as a still image and gained rapid traction across social media platforms, as did the original video. The circulation of the content online inspired a group of artists to remediate the digital image themselves into a series of artistic works, adding in the process additional layers of meaning and interpretation to its original context. Taking the digital image of the side kick as a case study, this qualitative research examines how five young Lebanese artists use ‘cyberartivism’ to participate in the rising wave of political and social transformation. Based on empirical material that consists of a series of interviews with five Lebanese artists, this study aims to understand the role of digital images in their transition from forms of evidence to remediated sites of transgression in the context of the October 2019 Revolution in Lebanon. Its purpose is to explore the way camera witnessing, connective witnessing, and the creative modification of an image and its circulation on social media can foster a sense of solidarity and dissent by empowering and strengthening protestors’ voices, thus generating new forms of leadership and agency.KEYWORDS: Visual activismconnective witnessingcounter visualitymiddle east uprisingdigital imagesocial media AcknowledgementsThe author is grateful to Danielle Arbid, Sasha Haddad, Pascale Hares, Noemie Honein, Mohamad Kaaki, and Rami Kanso for sharing their thought-provoking testimonies and images in this article.This article benefitted from constructive comments received on earlier versions by Fred Ritchin. The author wishes to thank him in addition to the two anonymous referees for their valuable comments and for their useful resource suggestions.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1. According to Amnesty International, the protests since October 2019 in Lebanon have been met by the Lebanese military and security forces with beatings, teargas, rubber bullets, live ammunition and pellets.2. For more on the way Lebanese warlords took over the country after the Civil War, see Ussama Makdisi (Citation2000). When the Grand Liban (Greater Lebanon), an independent modern state, was established after the First World War, under the French mandate, it was founded on a sectarian system enshrined by a constitution that divided the ruling authority by assigning the presidency to a Maronite, the House of Representatives to a Shia, and the position of Prime Minister to a Sunni. In the late 1990’s, the Taif Agreement was signed to secure mutual coexistence and power-sharing among the country’s religious groups. This agreement reinforced the separation between different communities, fostering separation instead of unity. And as the ongoing violence in the country shows, Lebanon is arguably just as divided and unstable as it was three decades ago.3. The incident occurred when the convoy of the Lebanese minister of education was confronted by protestors. One of the minister’s bodyguards stepped out of the car and fired an assault rifle in the air, sparking an angry reaction from the crowd.4. The half-a-second footage and the still digital image can be accessed on the following link.https://twitter.com/karlremarks/status/1184968531286343680?lang=en5. https://twitter.com/karlremarks/status/1184968531286343680?lang=en6. The photo can be seen at the following link https://taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2011/07/21/20035087857. Alaa Salah’s image is taken by Lana Haroun in April 2019.8. Personal communication, June 3, 2021.9. Personal communication, July 14, 2021.10. Mashrou’ Leila is a Lebanese progressive indie rock band who sings lyrics that touch on topics that remain highly controversial in the Arab region.11. Personal communication, July 14, 2021.12. Personal communication, June 3, 2021.13. Personal communication, June 3, 2021.14. Personal communication, September 2, 2020.15. Personal communication, November 21, 2020.16. Although Lebanon is perceived to be one of the Arab world’s freest countries, it has witnessed an alarming increase in attacks on freedom of expression over the past few years.17. Personal communication, June 3, 2021.Additional informationNotes on contributorsYasmine Nachabe TaanYasmine Nachabe Taan is Associate Professor of Art and Design History at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. She is currently Visiting Professor at Bilkent University in Turkey. She holds a PhD in Art History and Communication Studies from McGill University. Her interdisciplinary research cuts across the fields of visual culture, gender politics, photography and design history with a focus on Lebanon and the Middle East.