Where I belong Lebanese photographer Myriam Boulos is continuously striving to find her place in a conservative yet eccentric city.
While questioning the need for belonging to a distinct social group, and the relationship between impulsive partying and the instability and insecurity of Lebanon, Lebanese photographer Myriam Boulos captures candid images of the night owls who continually gather at Beirut’s most iconic underground club B0 18.
A purge that has consumed Lebanon’s society, ‘Vertiges du matin’ or ‘Morning Vertigo’ is symbolic of a nocturnal reality that many seek as a form of escapism. Photographing the loyal regulars who search for a temporary rush and suffer from chronic dissatisfaction, Boulos’s first oeuvre explores Beirut’s, end of a night out.
Born in 1992, Myriam’s love for photography became apparent at the age of sixteen, upon meeting her best friend. Inspired by the power of photographs, Boulos began using the medium to explore her inner world by better understanding herself, her relationship to the city and its people.
Winning the third edition of the Byblos Bank Awards in 2014, Boulos was granted her first solo exhibition. Titled ‘Nightshift’ the series revolves around parties that take place at the industrial venues of Beirut.
Turning her lens towards young women who possess characteristics of power, fragility, determination, and vulnerability, ‘Nightshift’ questions the position of these women in a patriarchal capitalist society, while portraying the different forms of self-exploration, self-protection, and resistance.
Graduating with a master degree in photography from the Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) in 2015, Boulos developed ‘Sunday’ a series that examines the lives of migrant workers employed under the Kafala system.
Using Direct, and colorful aesthetics, ‘Sunday’ reveals the almost hidden lives of these migrant workers who wait for the end of the week to feel a sense of freedom before having to go back to their employers.
Recognized by established photographers and experts from various fields, Boulos’s photograph was featured in ‘On Photography In Lebanon: Stories and Essays’ a collective publication that aims to open conversations on the mediums fragility and continual transformation at the cusp of a digital revolution.
Persistently putting together photographic work that mirror’s her reality, Boulos’s most recent project entitled ‘Tenderness’ is an ongoing series that deals with the human connection and its importance on the evolution of society. By questioning sexuality, self-love, the body, and its significance in a self-destructive city, Myriam is able to explore the internal blockages that are present and often ignored by many individuals.
By delving deep into her inner world, and staying true to herself and her photography, Boulos is continuously striving to find her place in a conservative yet eccentric city. By exhibiting her work in national and international exhibitions, Myriam believes she is taking an essential step in developing, and shaping her vision, and craft.
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