Downtown Beirut (from In A Different Light Series)

A Lebanese native, Jack Seikaly has been experimenting with photography and developing his craft for over a decade. Rooted in an inherent attraction to landscapes and exploring global cultures, his extensive body of work has been defined by personal trips that have taken him to some of the most remote parts of the world.

About the Series:
Capturing immersive landscapes and architectural icons on the infrared spectrum, the 21-piece series is a challenge to our perceptions of the visible world. From the rice fields of China to the streets of San Francisco, this collection is the culmination of a four-year expedition across seven countries around the world. The surrealism of this invisible dimension is captured through the use of a converted infrared camera, paired with a specialized technique of editing images in a spectrum that the human eye cannot see. Designed to magnify infrared light, the camera most strikingly captures the glow in plants that represents their photosynthetic interaction with the sun. Inspired by Richard Mosse’s seminal infrared series The Enclave, Jack’s work strives to illuminate the importance of human perception and serves as a commentary
on its breadth. With an intimate understanding of how our perceived sense of reality informs our behavior, this series seeks to broaden our personal viewpoints and challenges the lens through which we experience the physical world. The surrealism of infrared acts as a gateway into a new approach of looking at familiar subjects, the ability to view them in a different light.

About the Image:
This photograph was taken on January 6, 2018 of downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Standing atop a building near Saifi Village, it provides a great vantage point of the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, the St. George Maronite Cathedral, and the Grand Serail. Importantly, this picture highlights the lack of greenery and nature in Lebanon’s capital city.

KAYANY FOUNDATION

Kayany Foundation is a Lebanese non-governmental organization founded in 2013 in response to the Syrian crisis. Kayany operates educational programs for Syrian refugee children and youth residing in the informal tented settlements (ITSs). In partnership with the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service at AUB, the foundation established GHATA portable schools in the Beqaa valley. With this effective and sustainable school design, Kayany took a leading role in bringing education to “OUT OF SCHOOL” refugees. Its projects and programs have been expanding ever since.