Randa Mirza

Atlal revisits the ancient Arabic poetic motif of ruin symbolizing loss, nostalgia, and the passage of time through the lens of contemporary conflict. The work confronts the erasure of memory and history, denouncing the destruction of civilian homes in southern Lebanon by the Israeli military.

Days after the November 2024 ceasefire, the artist photographed the devastation using a view camera, a process that requires patience and time. This method echoes the practice of Pre-Islamic poets, who composed verses while “standing before the atlal (ruins),” transforming the act of photography into a ritual of reconciliation and reparation.

In Arabic, beyt denotes both poetic verse and home. Mirza’s images of ruined houses are paired with poetic verses, tracing the Arab world’s relationship with home from ancient times to today. The juxtaposition evokes a collective unconscious, a shared sense of belonging, and a space for communal mourning amid ongoing catastrophe.