Lebanese artist Hayat Nazer created a symbol of hope from the Beirut blast debris which shocked the world in August 2020.
The woman statue stands nearly three meters tall with her arm raised, the wind whipping the hair away from her scarred face, and a broken clock at her feet with the hands showing 6.08, the time that a blast ripped through Beirut port on the evening of August 4.
The statue is made of broken glass and twisted materials that belonged to people’s homes before the explosion that killed 200 and injured 6,000 and symbolizes the city’s hopes of rising from the rubble.
“If you look at the statue, one half has a leg standing, the hand looks surrendered, there is a scar on the face with the flying hair and the clock on this side, as if the explosion is still happening,” Nazer told Reuters.
“But the other hand and the other leg is leaning as if it is starting to walk and the hand is raised, it wants to continue, it wants to keep going and rise from the rubble. And this is the truth, this is our truth,” the 33-year-old said.
She says those affected by the blast who saw the 2.6-metre statue, temporarily exhibited in front of the damaged port, drew strength and hope to carry on.
Nazer had already started on a female sculpture before the blast, but volunteered to help clean up destroyed houses and streets. At night, she would return to the sculpture, using the glass and metal pieces she had collected.
“I felt like Beirut was a woman who despite what she suffered is very strong,” she said.
