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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Osmosis and Branches Video 2024
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Migratory Spandau Lichtenberg Video 2024
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Iconography Everyday Mixed Media 2023
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Sumava Photography/Mixed Media 2023
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Text, 2022 There is a fly circling around this room that I am currently occupying. My lover is going around with a cup in their hands, in an attempt to capture and release. Misguided attempt, if you ask me. After a few minutes of trying, they have forfeited the cup as a weapon and moved onto a kitchen towel. Several attempts have been made until the fly surrenders to its death; cause? A kitchen towel smacking it along the windowsill. Was it worth it? The buzzing sound has ceased to make way for the crackling of leaves. //// Ammonium nitrate has been stored in our basement for some time now. The management is coming round next week to inspect for security regulations. How will we manage to transport it to an off-shore facility? Should we just save ourselves the hassle of transporting it and pay a fine to the respected authorities? Will they confiscate it off our hands, regardless? Was storing it in our basement necessary? What did we get ourselves into? Can the law be manipulated in our favor, if we bribe a few officials? Would that be called saving grace? //// An explosion at the Beirut port where ammonium nitrate was stored which destroyed many lives and caused countless of damage. An inflation where 70% of the population lives below poverty. Corrupt politicians playing an active role in furthering the country’s descent into darkness. I have a grandmother, named Wahiba - who raised three children alongside her husband, Assad—during a civil war. She was a teacher and he was an architect. Their lives were uprooted, like many others, in ways that are inconceivable. Most nights were spent in a bunker. Most days were spent at school. Whenever the electricity was on, people were glued to a television set to watch the latest news. When the power cut out, backgammon was played with a candle and a radio playing in the background. My grandparents tried to establish a sense of normality amidst a siege on the streets of Beirut. There were many questions that circulated in people’s minds… when would this war end? If my loved ones exit through that door, would they make it back alive in one piece? If we cannot leave, how can we latch onto glimmers of hope amongst the decay that seems to permeate in each crevice? The reconstruction period of the city evoked hope and in that the worst is over and better times are coming. Today, the picture is much different. Assad died after stage three of stomach cancer was detected too late and succumbed to death shortly. Wahiba has alzheimer and does not remember much, neither her neighborhood which she has been in for over forty years nor her daughters. The only preoccupation she has is eating a piece of cake and smoking a cigarette, one after the other. Is there a word to describe the fear of forgetting memories and of oneself? Jotting down notes franticly onto notebooks full of coffee stains and torn out pages. So that when amnesia starts to settle in, you’ll have notebooks filled with illegible writing, bullet points that seem to take over the page and poorly drawn tables with information that does not seem pertinent to what has passed. Is it necessary to cling onto memories that contain misery, pain and regret? If rumination is a past time habit, what happens when the memories fade away, what does rumination set its claws onto then? The steady decline that comes with having alzheimer. Forgetting memories, people, habits.
A refusal to eat.
A refusal to talk.
A refusal to sleep.
The burden of rotating care between family members. The anger that emerges from the prospect of death. The bureaucratic mess of inheritance. What does fulfillment look like beyond the act of survival?
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Drawn to Pretenses Made with OBS Studio Song titled, "Yellow Leaves and Piegeons" by Serena Khan 2023
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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During the COVID lockdown in March of 2020, I walked past the Betriebsstätte Westhafen every day. I wondered what lay beyond the tall brick walls and metal gates, imagining massive warehouses filled with goods from around the world, heavy machinery, and the hissing sounds of welding torches. The Westhafen seemed like a serene, massive creature breathing in and out. I couldn’t help but wonder what secrets lay hidden within those walls and what stories those machines could tell. Even during a pandemic, the world kept turning, and the machines of commerce and industry kept building, creating, and evolving.
To Forfeit Possibilities Video Essay (wordplay) 2022
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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An Arbitrary Volcanic Quest, 2023, Mixed Media, Pre-process work for 3D environments. Developing a micro-game through Unity. The game draws players into a world where molten magma courses relentlessly beneath their feet, creating an atmosphere of urgency and peril. As the protagonist navigates the treacherous terrain of the volcanic landscape, the game serves as a powerful metaphor for the fragility and impermanence of human existence in the face of nature’s formidable forces.
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Reframing Public Space: Dalieh’s Transformation from Collective Memory to Commodified Exclusivity Field Research/Mixed Media
Archive picture from 80s of grandfather behind Dalieh
Accropodes of Dalieh, 2023, Mixed Media,
Fishing Designation, 2023, Mixed Media,
Embedded Crooked Rods, 2023, Mixed Media,
Structural Association to Wavy Terrains, 2023, Mixed Media,
Fleeting Coral Reefs, 2023, Mixed Media,
I remember my grandfather, who used to frequent Dalieh almost daily, building fishing rods out of broomsticks. For him, and for many others, Dalieh was not just a place to fish, but a refuge from a busy city life. It was a place where one could escape the constant exposure of commercialization, security apparatus and political propaganda. It was a place where marginalized communities in Lebanon could find solace without having to spend money or adhere to strict rules.
As a space of refuge for marginalized communities, Dalieh represents more than just a physical location. It is a microcosm of the complex interplay between urbanization, socio-economic dynamics, and public policy.
Dalieh stands as a compelling example of the challenges facing public spaces in Lebanon and beyond. Its fading fragments of memories, fading amidst the waves of change, beckon us to critically reflect on the fundamental value of public spaces as sites of collective memory, inclusivity, and cultural continuity.
لسماءا نعد نرى ملبحر، لا رؤية نيريدو ملأنه *Because they want to see the sea, we can’t see the sky anymore.
In 2014, civil society organizations, through a powerful slogan, pointed to the culprits behind this blight on Beirut’s landscape. ‘They’, a reference to the privileged upper class who reside in towering structures that mar the city’s skyline, and the corrupt political class who barter the city to the highest bidder. The sky, once a symbol of freedom and openness, has now been overshadowed by the greed and exclusivity that pervades the privatization of public spaces, leaving us to ponder the loss of shared heritage.
As we delve into the discourse surrounding Dalieh, a once cherished public space now marred by the scars of privatization and the changing dynamics of the fishing industry, we are compelled to ask ourselves: Who has the right to lay claim to the sea? Who benefits from the commodification of public spaces? Who suffers the consequences of engineered interventions that alter the natural landscape? These questions urge us to critically examine the intricate web of power relations, political interests, and social dynamics that shape the fate of public spaces like Dalieh.
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Fleeting Coral Reefs, 2023, Mixed Media,
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Forages of Fungi, 2022, Mixed Media, The matsutake mushroom, a beloved and revered species, carries with it profound symbolism that speaks to the resilience and adaptability of the natural world. Known for its ability to thrive in diverse ecological conditions, the matsutake mushroom embodies the spirit of regeneration and optimism, even in the face of challenges posed by capitalist systems. This work depicts the delicate and intricate structure of the matsutake mushroom, which is featured in Anna Tsing’s book “The Mushroom at the End of the World.”.
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Riyak Railway Station’s Resonance in a Changing Landscape Field Research/Photography
Metallic Scraps of Transport, 2018, Photography,
Far-Away Horizon, 2018, Photography,
The Riyak railway station in the Beqaa Governorate of Lebanon opened in 1895 but closed down in 1975. It has since been transformed into a Lebanese military base, and photographs are strictly prohibited.While conducting a journalism workshop, we stopped to take some photos of the abandoned station. An officer approached us, questioning what we were doing, and subsequently held us for two hours to conduct a background check before releasing us. We were held in the dilapidated former station headquarters, where a non-functioning clock hung on the wall. One of my colleagues commented on the broken clock, to which the officer grimly replied, “Yes, the clock has stopped, just like this train station.”His ominous tone and grave demeanor suggested the station’s halted operations were a metaphor for something greater. The Riyak railway station, once a hub of activity, now stands frozen in time as a relic of Lebanon’s past.
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Mechanism of Spaces, 2022, Mixed Media, Westhafen-Scape, 2022, Mixed Media,
Through my photographic exploration of the U-Bahn and its entrances, I have sought to visually capture and represent the essence of the “third place.” Drawing upon Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the “Great Good Place,” I have aimed to create a visual narrative that embodies the idea of a space beyond the confines of home and work, a place where people gather to travel.
By employing techniques such as multiplying and layering the images, I have sought to convey the complex and dynamic nature of these communal spaces, highlighting the many different layers of human interaction that occur within them
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Microscopic Forms, 2023, Mixed Media, In 2018, The Friends of the Coast of Sidon created an artificial reef using 10 military tanks to restore the endangered Corallium Rubrum populations. The reef and conservation efforts have helped the red coral rebound, highlighting the potential for human intervention to mitigate environmental degradation and protect biodiversity.
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Foliages of Mortality: A Series
Dimentional Formalities Mixed Media 2023
Multiplied MRIs Mixed Media 2023
In her essay (On Being Ill), Virginia Woolf keenly observes that when struck by illness, the relentless pace of our daily lives is abruptly interrupted, forcing us to slow down and confront our own mortality. The deconstructed MRI images serve as a visual metaphor for the inner turmoil and anguish that is felt during a flare-up. Similarly, the Mars foliages symbolize the isolation and alienation that often accompany chronic illnesses.
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cactisonicboxes · 6 months
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Conjunctions of Tide Mixed Media 2022
Members of the Phylum Ctenophora, Ctenophores, often known as Comb Jellies, resemble jelly but are not true Sea Jellies. They are not bioluminescent. The rainbow colors are produced by the comb rows’ prismatic effect on light. They possess colloblasts, which are not stinging cells but rather erupt on impact, along with a sticky material that aids in the capturing of their prey.
A haunting reminder of the mysteries that lie beneath the surface, the jellyfish becomes a conduit to ponder the elusive wonders that dwell in the fathomless depths of the sea, stirring the imagination and igniting a sense of awe.
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