Lebanese artist Abed Al Kadiri was in Beijing in October 2019 when the magnitude of the uprisings in Beirut became clear. The drawing series October 17, 2019 Diaries of the Lebanese Revolution on show for the first time in this exhibition, is the result of his fervent return to Beirut to be with his compatriots. Al Kadiri was one of thousands of people who protested the Lebanese regime, demanding their rights to a proper living and an end to the corrupt system that has reigned since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990. Each night, after a day spent in the streets, he drew his memories. Ten of these works are included in this show.

The series is named after the day that the protests in Lebanon began: October 17, 2019. That night, Al Kadiri witnessed the streets on fire—filled with his angry compatriots—while on the way to the Beirut airport. He was headed for Beijing to give a talk at CAFA Art Museum, ironically about how art and politics have often intertwined in books made by artists from the Arab world. Little did he know how serious the protests back home would become. He arrived in China and watched from a distance, through television broadcasts, as more and more people joined the revolution. Al Kadiri changed his plans and returned to his home country as soon as possible, buying rice paper and Chinese ink on the way.

Al Kadiri’s works are a snapshot of the dramatic scenes he observed, from the crowds of protestors and clutches of flags, to menacing, dark figures set in Beirut’s looming cityscape. Drawn hurriedly in black ink onto rolls of rice paper, they show the urgency and intensity that lived in those sleepless days and nights. Each drawing has a date and a specific location; a mapping of Al Kadiri’s movements across specific places in Beirut or elsewhere.

The works are black and white except for blood-red highlights that seem to symbolise the violence from pro-government forces that saw many injured; some fatally. Among the works’ bold lines are patches of dripping ink and indeterminate dots that evoke the pulsing action of the revolution. The thin rice paper used in October 17, 2021 captures the fragility of the dramatic political uprising that engulfed Lebanon. The materials also tie Beijing to Beirut, and
draw connections between social struggles the world over.

Al Kadiri made many drawings in the weeks that followed his return from China. His documentation came to a sudden halt when he was violently beaten by pro- government forces in late 2019, leaving him unable to paint or even leave the house. For now, his series of drawings remain unfinished, much like the Lebanese revolution itself. This exhibition now acts as an archive of a crucial moment in Lebanese history.