Challenging Panopticism through Representations : Burj al-Murr

Abstract

The Burj al-Murr appears in the Beirut cityscape as a towering concrete tube dotted with rectangular windows. The construction of the tower began in 1974. The eruption of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 radically altered the building’s purpose. Today, this towering ruin holds diverse meanings. In this article, I examine eight contemporary visual works (2001–2016) featuring Burj al-Murr. These works are analyzed as representations that challenge the Murr Tower’s ties to panopticism. Although the term panopticism is understood throughout the article to hold negative connotations and the term challenging implies defying the panopticon, the term challenging can also imply stimulation. Hence, as artists and designers appropriate Burj al-Murr, they defy the negative associations tied to it. They also stimulate its alternative potentials. In doing so, they raise questions regarding the uncertain future of this panoptic tower and representations of it yet to come.