Impressions of Paradise: Travel, Tourism, and the Visual Performance of Modern Lebanon is on view at the Nuhad Es-Said Pavilion for Culture until 30 October 2025. Curated by Nour Osseiran, with catalogue and research by art historian Marie Tomb, the exhibition unveils travel and film posters from the 1920s to the 1970s from the Philippe Jabre Art Collection, examining Lebanon’s visual identity. These vibrant, often romanticised depictions of cedar forests, ancient ruins, golden beaches, and cosmopolitan festivals, offered a seductive image of Lebanon to both local and international audiences.
By placing these archival materials in dialogue with contemporary works by artists Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Lamia Joreige, Said Baalbaki, and Caline Aoun, the exhibition probes the tension between visual fantasy and lived reality, and reflects on how cultural identity continues to be performed, consumed, and contested. In the following interview, curator Nour Osseiran expands on the exhibition’s themes, relevance, and design.
The exhibition explores ‘the construction of Lebanon’s national image in popular culture and its enduring visual legacy.’ Why is this investigation particularly relevant now? What does it offer to contemporary conversations about Lebanon’s identity?
In moments of national rupture, whether political, economic, or social, there is often a return to mythologised pasts. In Lebanon, the so-called ‘Golden Age’ is one such touchstone, frequently evoked with both nostalgia and critique. Impressions of Paradise revisits the visual culture in ephemeral travel and tourism posters that helped construct this era’s image, inviting a critical reflection on how Lebanon has been historically imagined, packaged, and sold, to its own citizens and to the world.
Today, when questions of identity feel especially fraught and fragmented, these posters offer a lens through which to examine how such idealised images continue to shape our expectations, desires, and disillusionments. This curatorial exploration emerged somewhat organically. I was invited to work with the Philippe Jabre Art Collection, and what immediately struck me was the enduring visual language embedded in these posters. Rather than attempting to present a comprehensive historical survey – impossible given the private and selective nature of the collection – I was more interested in drawing out a narrative from these specific materials. The aim was not to represent history, but to explore how visual motifs from that period have lodged themselves in our collective imagination. In doing so, the exhibition offers space for both nostalgic reflection and measured critique, encouraging viewers to consider what aspects of these images still resonate today and why.
The posters from the Philippe Jabre Art Collection reflect a carefully crafted national image. What recurring motifs or narratives did you notice across these works, and how do they shape the idea of a ‘Golden Age’ in the public imagination?
Several motifs recur with striking consistency: snow-capped mountains and sunny beaches evoking Lebanon’s rare geographic duality; Roman ruins standing for timeless heritage; scenes of cosmopolitan nightlife; and the recurring image of the airplane, symbolising modernity, speed, and connectedness. Together, they construct an image of Lebanon as both ancient and modern: a seamless, seductive blend. These posters were not neutral representations; like all advertisements, they were designed to sell a fantasy. They worked to condense the complexity of a country into a palatable and exportable image, one that marketed Lebanon as exceptional, idyllic, and stable.
In the public imagination, these images helped consolidate the notion of a ‘Golden Age’, a time of harmony, prestige, and luxury, when tourism became a key pillar in projecting Lebanon’s stature on the global stage. While this era was real in some aspects, it was also highly curated and unevenly experienced. And yet, for many, it remains a point of nostalgic return, a visual and emotional reference that continues to inform how we think about Lebanon’s past, and perhaps, its imagined futures.
You’ve described these posters as examples of ‘soft propaganda,’ shaping both global perceptions and local self-image. What kind of Lebanon did this visual propaganda promote and do you think echoes of that image still persist today? Do you see similar visual strategies, or a conscious break from them, being used in Lebanon’s contemporary visual identity, whether locally or internationally?
The Lebanon promoted through these posters is cosmopolitan and hospitable; a land of leisure, beauty, and historical depth. This was a strategic narrative, especially in the wake of independence, as Lebanon sought to define itself on its own terms, while still courting international tourism and investment. Today, echoes of that imagery remain, even if they’ve grown more ironic or nostalgic. Whether in diaspora marketing, certain political rhetoric, or social media aesthetics, we still see traces of that idealised Lebanon. But what’s interesting now is the dissonance, the growing awareness of the gap between image and reality, and how that gap becomes a site of artistic and political reflection.
The exhibition places these romanticised posters alongside contemporary artworks by several Lebanese artists, who interrogate and disrupt the idealised narrative, suggesting both allure and irony. Was this juxtaposition deliberate? How does the show navigate the tension between fantasy and lived experience, and what kind of engagement do you hope this provokes in viewers?
Yes, the juxtaposition was very intentional. The posters on their own are beautiful, but also seductive in how they gloss over complexity. By placing them in dialogue with contemporary works, such as the critical nostalgia in Hadjithomas and Joreige’s Wonder Beirut, or the material abstraction in Caline Aoun’s practice, we’re inviting viewers to oscillate between enchantment and critique. I hope the exhibition creates a space where viewers can appreciate the visual charm of the posters, but also feel prompted to question what is absent, what is idealised, and what it means to look back. It’s about activating a more layered, reflexive engagement with the past.
From a curatorial perspective, how did you approach the physical layout of the exhibition? And what were some of the curatorial challenges in presenting film and travel posters seeing as they are often considered as ephemeral media?
The scenography of the exhibition, designed by Atelier Meem Noon, and the visual identity, developed by Studio 7w20, were carefully conceived to highlight the graphic boldness of the collection. Posters were grouped thematically by recurring motifs and visual strategies, and the exhibition layout was guided by this logic. Upon entering the space, visitors are met with a large mural that partially obscures the rest of the gallery, creating a sense of anticipation. As they move through the rooms, each new set of posters is revealed gradually, almost by surprise, encouraging a sense of discovery. One of the key challenges was giving the posters the presence they deserve, especially considering they were never intended for display in a museum context. Their meaning lies not in any single image, but in their selection and multiplicity. The curatorial intent was to show how ephemera, often overlooked, can play a powerful role in constructing histories and shaping collective memory.
Location: The Nuhad Es-Said Pavilion for Culture.
Date: 30 June till 30 October 2025.