Leila Lak
Carla Barchini, a Lebanese-Greek artist, moved with her family to Europe during the Lebanese civil war of 1975. Like many in her generation growing up in exile she dreamt of a day that she would return to her homeland. When she finally moved back in 2013 she did so with her first solo show and has since developed further as an artist and her work has also been exhibited in several collective shows.
Barchini is currently an artist in resident at Largo Das Artes/Despina in Rio and she feels her work in this city is being highly influenced by the nature surrounding her.
She spent her formative artistic years in Florence studying restoration of ancient woods and furniture. She refined this practice and studied within the context of Renaissance art, to this day she uses these skills together with her original medium of painting.
“I chose this type of art and artistry because it is very direct,” Barchini says. “Touching the wood, working with the wood, sculpting, and gilding.”
Her work is not only about the final piece but about the process of production.
“My pieces all have one thing in common with each other, they all have a story behind them,” she says.
Her material is sought out in nature and on construction sites. Pieces of wood she finds in her father’s carpentry factory, or in the gardens of her residence in Cosme Velho. She seeks objects that mean something to her, that she can clean, mold and paint.
“More than the work itself, is the history of where I found the object,” Barchini says. “Why did I take it? What does this say? These questions bind everything I work on. “
Moving to Beirut from Florence, Barchini quickly became immersed in the city of her childhood.
“I returned to Lebanon with the great dream of finding the home to rediscover my roots,” she went about finding objects that remained in the home of her grandmother or the grounds of her father, objects that allowed her to produce work that she says returned her to her own life story.
Beirut is a city where there are often water shortages, electric cuts and heavy traffic. A city meandering between the mountains and the sea that chaos and war have scarred. Beirut is a city that captures the imagination and is attracting a vibrant artistic scene.
“Often I am stuck in traffic so I started to deconstruct the cars in my head,” says Barchini. “I created my first work in this time. I made a carpet out of the roof of the car and called it the flying carpet.”
The car she found at a construction site. She says she often works with large, heavy objects. Objects that no longer have worth but are precious to her and that she imbues with a second life. When she came to Rio she decided not to research the city, of course she says she knew Christo, the ocean, the nature but she wanted to discover the city when she arrived and to allow her senses to take it in for her.
“I am in the midst of falling in love with Rio,” she says. “It’s been a month since I got here and each day I become more and more fascinated by the nature and by the chaotic harmony that exists here.” “Beirut to me is totally different as the war is ever present. The war has changed the people there and has distorted the nature around us. Here in Rio there is a sense of harmony, as it is nature that directs the city.”
Barchini has lived and traveled to many countries and has met the Lebanese Diaspora all over the world. What strikes her as completely different in Brazil is that the Diaspora defines itself first and foremost as Brazilian. Elsewhere they maintain their Lebanese identities.
“They are profoundly Brazilian,” she says. “When they speak about Lebanon there is a nostalgia filled with respect. I haven’t sensed that anywhere else. Here they have a great respect for their grandparents and their journey.” “It is a pleasure for me to meet the Lebanese here,” she says.
Barchini sees within the community a desire to know more about Lebanon and their ancestor’s culture, therefore she plans a cross-cultural artistic exchange between Rio and Beirut next year.
“They are two cultures so different to each other, yet in a sense so close,” she says “And this distance allows for mutual respect and curiosity.”
Barchini believes both Rio and Beirut share a sense of artistic pull of creativity. In Rio she sees it in the Samba City, where each school expresses itself through creating their own themes and artistry. In Beirut three generations of artists are working in various ateliers throughout the city with many galleries representing them. Barchini believes that it was no accident she came to Rio, and that this is a journey that has only just begun.
Carla Barchini’s work can be seen in a group show at Largo Das Artes/Despina on the 25th February from 7pm.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Leila Lak is a journalist, documentary filmmaker and chief journalist of Revista Diaspora.