Giulio Rimondi: Beirut Nocturne

For many years now it has been hard to tell the story of Beirut without lapsing into clichés. Giulio Rimondi, a young Italian photographer living and working there, has managed to circumvent that risk. His images, accompanied by the verse of respected poet Christian Ghazi, evoke an atmosphere of intimacy and solitude that is haunted by the memory of war. There is hardly a trace here of the Beirut of popular misconception, instead Rimondis photographs reveal a nocturnal, silent city, where people living at the margins are illuminated for both an instant and forever.