“Beirut Power” Platinum
by Wyssem Nochi · Beirut, Lebanon

All started when a designer colleague Gregory Gatserelia requested I look at a cows mascot trophy head in fiberglass, he was to give a plain white head to selected artists to decorate to hang them as an ornament in BrGR.Co. Chef Hussein Hadid recent restaurant in downtown Beirut. Being vegetarian I decided to band the cows’ eyes with a satin ‘Black Tie” a.k.a title of the work and the upcoming’s, not to see the slaughter and meat served on the tables, the cow head was rejected though they served a vegetarian burger. Following the incident, I produced seven all silk fine tailored black ties, one for every day of the week for use in the bedroom each with a different function and graphic content: Cuff. Whip. Zip. Mask. Tie. Hang. Band., and started to sketch and prototype several glass objects, for House Of Today and WallpaperStore* among the works were ‘Night Bottle Nibbles”, a surreal sensual and voluptuous milk/water bottle and glass, and “Kiss Extinguisher”, a glass box to save a lover’s specimen lipstick kiss mark inside or simply use to put out a cigarette as ashtray snuff box. “Beirut Power” water float candle chandeliers dumbbells followed in the series inspired by a stencil graffiti found on the street walls of Beirut representing a generic ‘light bulb and a candlelight’ referred to the frequent power cuts the country witnesses daily, and so to take even more pleasure in the dark, space wax, fire burn and body piercing pain in erotic daze, on ultralight dumbbell workout.