In Beirut, on the 4th of August, at 6:07 PM, time stopped. A massive explosion ripped through the city, and the impact of it was both immediate and lasting. At least 220 people lost their lives and more than 6000 wounded by blast and its firey wake. That aftermath left some 300,000 people homeless and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Following on from this tragedy, the Time Stopped initiative was born. Omar Trabloulsi, better known as @thewrongwrist on Instagram, teamed up with Julien Bonzom from HERITIER Official to help out. Time Stopped is a series of 11 digital artworks depicting watches with the time stopped at 6:07.
These illustrations took a total of some 235 hours to complete, and show a range of modern timepieces, from Greubel Forsey, Laurent Ferrier and URWERK to Sartory Billard and even Baltic. In addition to being presented individually, all these works have been collated in a single image, a Lebanon Cedar Tree, which is a symbol of holiness, peace and eternity with the inscription ‘Rise from Beneath the Ruins‘ underneath, in Arabic.
These images are available digitally for a donation from HERITIER Official until 6:07 PM (CET) on the 22nd of October. All funds raised will go to Beit El Baraka, an organisation working to support the population of Beirut in recovering from this tragedy. Beit El Baraka has helped over 3000 people thus far; providing food, paying water and electricity bills, covering rent and refurbishing homes as well as assisting with medical care.
It’s essential work, and you can support it by supporting the Time Stopped initiative.
