”The first time I went outdoors to paint something, I drew some letters of my name with a stencil, behind the wall of my house. 10 years later, the graffiti is still here!
I think this is when I realized the power of graffitis: a 14 year-old teenage boy such as myself could express himself for the world to see. It’s incredible that such a strong way of expression is so little used.
When I was a kid, I used to look at the city from my bus window, and used to think that the city was very different from its inhabitants. This is why I felt the pull to paint the walls of Beirut. I wanted to replace the faces of our politicians on our walls by something more beautiful, which would unite Lebanese. I then pictured a series of frescoes mixing Arabic calligraphy and portraits to create a feeling of a common national identity.”
Yazan Halwani is a 25 year old Lebanese artist. He’s been painting on Beirut walls for the past 10 years. His mission? Unite Lebanese people through art.
Text by Victoria Philippe