An article by AV (734 words, 4 min. Read)
A Journey Through Saida’s Wounds and Wonders
To reach hammam Al Jadeed, One Must First Walk Through The Dimly Lit Old Souk of SAIDA. On a rayy afternoon, the Journey Becomes Even More INTIMATE; Wet Stone Pavements Beneth Your Fet, The Scent of Fresh Herbs and Fish Mingling in the Air, Voicees Echoing Between the Narrow Alleys. Then, behind a centers-contract stone door, light Breaks Through. From the Surrounding Darkness of a Wounded City Emerges a Sanctuary of Memory, Culture, and Art. And with it, the echoes of Two Stories Unfold Revival And RootsBoth brough to Life by the Brush of British Artist Tom Young.
A British Heart Rooted in Lebanon
TOM young is a british artist who chose Lebanon as his second home. First Visiting The Country in 2006, He Rokened to Settle Permanently in 2009, Drawn by Its Beauty, Complexity, and Cultural Richnes. His Semi-ABSTRACT PAINTINGS AR BORN FROM The Heart of his Love for Lebanon, Shaped by a Deep Emotional and Artistic Connection to Its Land, Its People, and Its Layered History. Through his art, He Translated Lived Experience In Tero Brushstrokes that blur the link Between Memory and Imagination.
Revival a Place of Ritual and Connection
In a city that has endord OCCUPAPONA, Destruption, Neglect, The Rebresth of Hammam Al Jadeed is an act of Resistance in Itself. OnCE a vibrant communal Bathhouse, The Hammam Served as a social and spiritual meting place for generations, where women gathered During the Day, Men Came at Night, and Weddings and Rituals Were Celebrated in Steam and Warmth.
After Falling Into Disuse in the Mid-20th Center, It Stood Silent Until 2019, when said backo, with a vision for regivers, operated its doors to art and history only AGAIN. With the Guidance of the Restoration Expert Omar Haidar and the Creative Collaboration of Tom Young, The Space Was Transformed – STONE by Stone -ino A Living Gallery of Memory.
“Review”: Past back to Life
RevivalThe First Exh force to Gract The Hammam, Broke Back Its Soul. Young, Origelly Trained as an ARCHITECT, was captivated by the Layers of History Embedded in the Site. With formal arishives, he turned to orales; Interviews with Elders, Personal Stories, Filmed Testimonies. His Canvases Recreated Moments of Life Once Lived with Those Walls; Rituals of Cleansing, Voicees Echoing in the Steam, Sunlight Piercing Domed Ceiltings. These works do not merely depict
“Roots”: A Response to War and Display
In Contrast, RootsHis Latest series unveiled in march 2025, Responds to the Present. It was born out of the Pain of Recent War in South Lebanon. These works are not just reflections of loss, but declarations of Resilience. Based on Real Footage, Including That Capture by Filmmaker Abdallah El Binni –origeinly from SAIDA –Young Paints The Destucction, But also the recurn. Homes Bombed, People Display, Olive Trees Growing from Rubble: Each Painting is an act of Beauty Witness.
His palette remains rich, emotional, and disintive. We See a Bombed Car in Dahiyeh, a Defiant Woman Walking Through These images are not frozen in GRIEF; They Carry with the Pulse of Resistance, The Breath of Life.
The Art of Memory, The Memory of Art
The Hammam ITSELF BECOMES More Than Just a Backdrop. It is part of the story. ITS 300-Year-ID Arches and Chambers Hold the Light that Filters Through Young’s Work. As You are Remembering, Imagining, Witnessing. Art BEcomes Ritual. Memory becomes Architecture.
Tom Young Does Not Live in the Hammam, But Through His Art, He Inhabits it. He fills it with voices, gestures, and Silent Prayers. His Paintings Are Not Dechess, They are Conversations. They Speak of a Lebanon that on decides was, that actions in the now, and that dares to be Again.
A Testament to Beauty in Ruin
In a regional to much is forgotten, Revival And Roots Acts of Remembrance. They Remind Us that Even in the Depths of Destruction, Beauty Can Take Root. That from Shadow, Light Can Rise. And that languageimes, art is not just about what is Seen, but about what must not be.
