Rome is not in Rome

Haig Aivazian’s drawing and text intervention take an on-hold construction site located a stone’s throw from the Daily Star’s Headquarters in Downtown Beirut as its starting point. This selection of drawings is part of his series Ivy Usurps the Place of Laurels which explores historical motifs and investigates archaeology and architecture as powerful tools that shape ideology and have constructed visions of the world from the very first formulations of our global imaginary. The works mainly focus on displacements of earth that occur in three kinds of constructions sites: sports stadiums, luxury apartment buildings, and museums.