From May 22 until June 20, Ayyam Gallery Beirut will debut the series that won second place at the 2011 Shahbab Ayyam Photography Competition, If Walls Could Talk by the exceptionally talented emerging Lebanese photographer, Lara Atallah.
Lara Atallah lends a voice to the current social problems and dissatisfactions encountered by the Lebanese in an urban environment through her photographic portrayal of various issues. Atallah states, “My aim is to tackle the issue, the photography is a means not an end.” In this exhibition, If Walls Could Talk, Lara Atallah unveils two societal problems for consideration.
The first is gentrification; that silent pressure which quietly and powerfully alters a landscape and its social history, and forces families from their homes. When one thinks of gentrification, one wholly considers the ramifications of the people in the areas who are forced to evacuate. What is not readily considered is the loss of architectural heritage and more importantly, the loss of basic necessities for the area, such as a place for public education of the society’s youth. These by-products of gentrification form the second societal problem for consideration in this exhibition.