Diala Khodry confronts Beirut’s forest of electric wires

Lebanese artist Diala Khodry's exhibition, Ishtirak (Subscription), presented at Art on 56th in Beirut, offers a unique perspective on the city's tangled web of electrical cables. Khodry's work goes beyond mere documentation, delving into an existential and environmental critique of the oppressive electrical network that shapes Beirut's urban space.

In Khodry's paintings, electrical wires become dark, thick, and unyielding strands that dominate the scene. Some works depict the cables as "networks of sharp blades," suggesting a sense of struggle and tension. The architecture and city itself seem to be defined by the void left behind by these cables, creating a sense of emptiness that permeates the urban landscape.

The oppressive nature of the electrical network is so pronounced that it even affects nature itself. Birds, once common in Beirut's rooftops, are deliberately omitted from Khodry's paintings, symbolizing the loss of their resting place in the city's relentless urbanization.

One painting in the exhibition, Reflections of Rainwater on Asphalt, takes on a more philosophical tone. Khodry uses rainwater as a mirror for Beirut's sky, creating a disorienting inversion where the sky is obscured by electrical wires and the only clear image of the sky is reflected in narrow pools of rainwater. This serves as a poignant reminder of the city's changing perception and the questions it raises about Beirut's reality and identity.

Through her distinctive visual language, Khodry invites viewers to confront the experience of living within a "permitted geographical zone," where everyday life is confined by the dictates of the electrical network. The oppressive geometry of the wires deprives viewers of a sense of freedom and opens up philosophical reflections on the city's true nature and the delicate balance between nature and urbanization.