Last August, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in human history leveled Lebanon’s main port and thousands of homes.
At 6:08 p.m., at the end of a searing summer day, the earth shook, the buildings swayed and the sky roared.
The blast that ripped through Beirut was a year ago. But for many, the disaster continues. Lebanon will observe a national day of mourning on Aug. 4, the first anniversary of a major explosion at the Port of Beirut.
In Lebanese Arabic, there is a saying: “The world stood up and sat back down.” It’s meant to describe chaos — a world turned upside down. This is what happened on that day almost one year ago, when Beirut was devastated by an explosion at a port warehouse. Everything slid out of place, and we’ve been unable to return anything to where it belongs.
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Goosebumps! This is what you get when you just pass across this wall, only a few meters from the port! They could have been driving, going to work, school or just passing by. Your lives matter! #TheyMatter #Lebanon #August4 pic.twitter.com/X8p8bPOAAM
— Hania Chahal (@Haniatalia) May 5, 2021
Beirut-based American artist Brady Black memorializes the victims of the deadly August 4 port blast with a series of 204 portraits of those killed by the explosion.
Street artist resident in Lebanon since 2015, Black teamed up with Art of Change to illegally create the capital city’s largest informal portrait gallery.
Scouring the internet for every name and image that could be found, Black digitally drew each face with the utmost care—with one caveat. No matter the importance of the victim or the degree of fame achieved in their death, each was limited to one hour of his creativity.
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Each victim’s portrait is about 10 square feet in size. Arranged side-by-side, the images span the equivalent of three football fields, covering three-quarters of a city block on one of Beirut’s busiest downtown intersections.
Brady Black is an artist working primarily in pen, ink, and watercolor with a focus on direct observational reportage illustration. He was born in Texas, USA, and now is based in Beirut, Lebanon with his wife, son, and their ridiculous dog Kreacher.
Lebanon will observe a national day of mourning on Aug. 4, the first anniversary of a major explosion at the Port of Beirut. All public administrations, institutions, and municipalities will be closed. Demonstrations demanding justice and accountability for the victims of the explosion are highly likely nationwide.
