8 x 9 IN / 20.3 x 22.9 CM
36 Pages, Softcover
Text in English
ISBN-13: 978-1-7335212-2-2
 
 
PENELOPES
 
"During the summer of 2013, I spent time on the Mar Michael Stairs neighborhood of Beirut. This old part of town was centered on a steep slope and was home to the old, now defunct Vendome Cinema. It was soon to be completely demolished and replaced by shiny new condominiums. Real estate companies were trying to buy the old residents and owners out, and while some had left their homes, others still hadn’t given in.
 
I went door to door, seeking out the ones who still lived there. In my interviews, I focused mainly on women who had lost a masculine figure in their lives, thereby mirroring my own recent personal history of losing both my father and my brother. 
 
I sipped up their coffee and their stories.
 
It brought me to a question. What is grief? Be it the lament of a time long gone by or a loved one long lost. Each of these Penelopes had lost the men in their lives, and today their neighborhood and community are threatened.
 
Patiently, they wait."
 
- Lara Tabet
 
 
About the Author
 
Born in 1983, Lara Tabet is a Lebanese medical doctor and visual artist. She graduated in Clinical Pathology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center and received a postgraduate certificate in photography from the International Center of Photography in New York. Her artistic practice is informed by her background in pathology and examines the relationship between the individual and public/private space in connection to gender, sexuality, and identity. She has been exhibited throughout the Arab world, USA and Europe. Tabet received grants from AFAC (Arab Fund for Art and Culture) and Al-Mawrid Al-Thaqafi; she was the recipient of the Sursock Museum prize and was awarded an Arte East fellowship.