Internal Wound (2019)

Title of the Painting: Internal Wound (2019)

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

Size:100x80cm

Overall Meaning

    In the context of Lebanese history, this painting represents the "Basement Years." It evokes the collective memory of families huddled in underground shelters while the world above turned to ash. The central, organic mass looks like a cross-section of a heart or a brain—suggesting that war in Lebanon isn't just an event, but something that has seeped into the very biological "core" of its people.

The surrounding darkness represents the total blackout—the literal loss of electricity and the metaphorical isolation of a country cut off from the world by blockades and sea sieges.

Composition & Form

      The work functions as a psycho geographic map, where the boundaries between Beirut’s infrastructure and the human body have completely dissolved, suggesting that a shattered electrical grid is indistinguishable from a shattered mind. This "total" landscape is anchored by an "island" structure, a central cluster of color surrounded by a void that mirrors the geopolitical isolation of Lebanon—a vibrant culture pulsating within a dark, hostile regional landscape. Within this core, biomorphic shapes resembling veins and exposed tissue connect the conflict to the physical body, implying that the destruction of the city is a direct trauma to the human nervous system. This chaos is further articulated through tangled linear elements, where red and blue lines mimic the "spaghetti" of wires found in Lebanese alleys, now mangled by shelling. Yet, amidst this devastation, a glowing yellow "exit" breaks through the dark perimeter in the top right, serving as a spark of resilience that honors the "phoenix" of Beirut, proving that a sliver of light remains even in the depths of the dark core.

Style

    The composition is firmly rooted in Abstract Surrealism with a touch of Biomorphism, moving away from pure geometric abstraction toward shapes that feel living and organic. This visceral abstraction shifts the focus from the cerebral to the raw, using fluid paint that mimics "bleeding" or "bruising" on the canvas to represent how trauma settles into the body long after the guns go silent. A heavy "soot" palette of blacks and muddy browns encroaches from the edges, evoking the charred remains of buildings and the omnipresent dust that follows a bombing. This darkness is punctuated by a Chiaroscuro energy, where sharp contrasts between the dark void and intense inner reds create a theatrical tension, reflecting the duality of Lebanese life—the profound darkness of the situation versus the colorful "fire" of the people’s spirit. The application of paint further reinforces this vitality, blending thin, hazy washes that suggest a smoke-filled atmosphere with sharp, energetic line work that gives the central cluster its sense of frantic, surviving pulse.