Lebanese Artist Lina Jouni Transforms Israeli Missile Debris into Symbols of Life and Resilience

NABATIEH — Amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes targeting towns across southern Lebanon, visual artist Lina Jouni is reclaiming the physical instruments of bombardment to construct works of contemporary sculpture, turning battlefield debris into assertions of civic endurance[cite: 17].

Working from her southern studio, Jouni gathers scorched shrapnel, unexploded rocket casings, and heavy metallic fragments left behind in residential strike zones[cite: 17]. Rather than allowing the ordnance to remain purely as painful markers of devastation, she welds, reshapes, and mounts the high-density military alloys into expressive sculptural compositions[cite: 17].

"Symbols of Life and Dignity"

"It is my way of turning weapons of death and painful memories of war into symbols of life and dignity," Jouni explained, noting that the creative process challenges the passive despair often left in the wake of prolonged bombardment[cite: 17].

Each piece begins with extensive de-escalation of the raw debris—neutralizing chemical residues and stripping away volatile elements before integrating the twisted metal with organic textures, stone pedestals, and geometric frames.

As military exchanges persist across southern border towns, Jouni’s emerging collection reflects a wider tradition of Lebanese cultural resistance, insisting that civilian presence and creative agency endure alongside active conflict lines