Les Ruines Circulaires (the circular ruins”), is a visual journey through South Lebanon, nicknamed Nabil (the inverted version of “Liban”, from Lebanon in French). The artist takes us to Kfar Kila, a small town in southern Lebanon chosen by Israel in 2012 as the location to lay the first stones of the wall that will separate it from its neighbor.
Infused with philosophy and poetry—notably the works of Etel Adnan, Jorge Luis Borges, and Mahmoud Darwich—this book is a photographic essay halfway between metaphysical narrative and documentary.
Orianne Ciantar Olive traces the thread of disaster back to its origins, subjecting herself to the laws of politics, chance and poetic accidents. With this project she tackles the issues of violence, occupation and forced exile that run through the territory in cycles.

The title of the book is borrowed from a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, the story of a dreamer who is dreaming (gradually realizing that he himself is someone else’s dream).


“In the mirage of grave reconstructions, I left for Syria in search of memories of celebrations in a country in ruins. Trapped by impassable borders, I would remain in another, which I call Nabil.
So, guided by the burning sun, I followed the direction of the disaster to trace its origins, to the wall.
So as not to be mistaken for a spy, I would inherit three different identities. Thus, and without ever speaking, I glimpse the fire, both creative and destructive, the vestiges-proofs that pile up endlessly and those that are born before my eyes, the glimmer of hopes that resign themselves to the sacrifice of their illusions, the imminent catastrophe lurking in the blind spots of the spotlights. Like a refrain, the paths of existence submit to the laws of politics, chance, and poetic accidents."
- Orianne Ciantar Olive