Inspired by Raad and Zaatari's "Mapping Sitting," Lucien Samaha embarked on a project of his own, utilizing the Arab Image Foundation archive materials in its raw form. While attempting to realign portraits, Samaha stumbled upon an unexpected outcome: the creation of entirely new characters through the layering of images in Photoshop. This accidental discovery fueled a series of composite portraits. Samaha expanded the concept to include couples and groups, finally feeling compelled to write narratives that stemmed from the very images he had created. These stories, born from his composite creations, took unexpected and often eccentric turns, yet remained surprisingly autobiographical and rooted in real-life experiences.Born in Beirut in 1958, Samaha has been photographing his life since he took one of the first photography courses ever offered in a High School Art curriculum in the US in 1975. Photography has been Samaha’s companion throughout his many careers, including that of a Flight Attendant for TWA, a Marketing Manager for Eastman Kodak Company, (where he had the distinction of being the first digital photographer ever), and a world famous DJ on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center.He considers himself a ‘post-conceptualist’ artist where he relishes the adventure of photographing and gathering materials from the real world and then finds inspiration from them in a finished project.He is currently consolidating his archive of over two million visual assets. He has shown at the Museum for Modern Art in Frankfurt Germany, and was a Nam Jun Paik Award Finalist in 2004 in Germany, among others.
