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  • Clara Murphy

Clara
Murphy

The Reconstruction of Beirut

I was born in Lebanon and lived there for many years. I have incredibly fond memories of Lebanon. When I speak of it to most people, all they know of are the wars and destruction. My dad was part of the project to reconstruct Beirut City after the Lebanese Civil war. I wanted to reconstruct peoples view of Lebanon by celebrating some of its beautiful artists. Starting with Huguette Caland, I took inspiration from her wire sculptures. From Caland’s work I experimented with 3D fabric shapes, moving them around the basic block designs, ex. a basic skirt. Stand work became very important for my design process. Persian and Arabic rugs adorn my family home and I wanted to incorporate these into my designs as they are the epitome of Arabic art in my opinion. I began tufting my own rugs with a tufting gun and wooden frame. Textiles and patterns appeal to the maximalist designer in me. 

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