Ripped is a research-based and artistic exploration of independent publishing practices in Beirut - a city marked by deep political, social, and economic ruptures. The project investigates how designers and cultural practitioners continue to produce and publish under conditions of ongoing crisis: economic collapse, infrastructure failure, and a constant sense of instability. In this context, publishing becomes more than a creative act - it is a form of resistance, of survival, and of self-assertion.
During a two-week stay in Beirut with Patrick Mitri (visual anthropologist) in April 2025, l engaged directly with the local publishing scene and visited spaces such as Waraq, Barzakh and Plan BEY, all of which function as hubs for independent publishing, print culture, and artistic experimentation. While walking through the city, I was struck by the layers of torn posters, temporary messages, and hand-made signs - visual traces of a city in flux, where nothing seems perma-nent, and yet expression persists.
My personal interest in books, magazines, and independent publishing serves as a strong motivation for this project. I see Ripped as a way to document current publishing in Beirut and to reflect on the role of design in fragile or unstable contexts. What does it mean to publish when when audiences are fragmented, and when the future feels uncertain?
Through visual documentation, interviews, and design research, Ripped aims to highlight both the challenges and the inventiveness of Beirut's publishing community - revealing how cultural production can emerge from, and respond to, rupture.
