The Carpernter
Raafat Majzoub
Street School
ﻣﺪرﺳﺔ اﻟﺸﺎرع The Street Smart
I watch the four men gathered around the table each one quartering their own individual side - each man dividing their wealth - their worth - their knowledge and their thoughts. I become the carpenter the street smart - the jack of all trades - the cameraman. . . The viewer. . . . . .
Each man a professional in his own right.
Each man suspending disbelief in each other’s processes without knowing the outcome. Can one build without the other? Is the carpenter able to put something together if the street smart has found no materials? If the jack of all trades does not lend a helping a hand to a frail old man? If the cameraman does not document the series of events, has it even happened? The wealth is distributed.
EVENLY
Hekmet arrives to pick us up in the car. We travel through the streets of Beirut with Tarack Majzoub, and Abu Lokmeh. Raafat: “Persian ships attack the American plane in the Persian Gulf”, Abu Lokmeh: “yikes” - “We’re in deep shit” The car weaves its way through the streets of Beirut, pit stopping at each suburb of garbage. A scavenger hunt for Beirut’s misfortunate, hopeless, homeless objects - exiled. : “This means the project is going to fail – Fuck” : “Okay let’s finish before the war breaks” The valleys, hills, and mountains we pass show a new landscape a view into the private lives of thousands, the graveyard of inanimate things. : “There is nothing more important than art” - “Art” - “art? “ - “ART!” I stop the car to assess the area. We are unable to enter the site, these materials can only be taken by the MAFIA and the Government, the fence | separates | us to the street. : “we need to not go to jail” - “jail will be good for me I need a | break | from my family” : “recite a verse from the Quran so Allah gives more”
To you, garbage is garbage. It is unwanted. It is not needed. It is old. It is useless. It bears no place in my home.
To me garbage is material. It is textured. It holds meaning. It contains history. It must not be forgotten by you, Tarak, Abu Lokmeh, Mahmoud, and me. It is worth nothing but with consideration, thought, contemplation, planning, discussion it holds the highest value in your home. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, forgotten, now found. Obsolete now useful. – Put it in the truck.