Fantastic Plastic: The Spiral Opens
Beirut, Sursock Street, behind the closed doors of a private flat, something began to twist. A new case file opened: the launch of the Fantastic Plastic stools, the first Rat d’Hôtel exhibition in the city.
The stools were made in collaboration with Plastc_lab, transforming recycled plastic into colourful, unique shapes. The flat was designed so that each room offered a distinct experience.
Photography by Tara Khazen
Fourteen stools were suspended from the ceiling in the main exhibition room, floating in mid-air like colourful ghosts of consumer waste. A sound installation by Amer Chamaa filled the space, built from recordings inside the Plastc_lab factory.
In the next room, the spiral continued. Visitors could explore the Rat d’Hôtel recycled jewellery, displayed on a candle lit table, sitting on silver trays filled with poppy seeds. Further down, a corner was dedicated to the Sophie shirt, an open window into Sophie Calle’s world.
Then came the heart of the night: the bedroom jungle. Layers of carpets around an antique bed, overgrown plants, and dim lights surrounded Kira, whose sound wrapped around the crowd. It was a room turned inside out; not a dance floor, but a place to sit or lie down. A place where secrets would be revealed.
In the kitchen, the spiral became edible. Kitchen Sessions crafted miniature Fantastic Plastic stools out of pastry; replicas of the collection, placed on mirrors beside fragments of coloured plastic. The absurd and the delicious merged into one.
Inspired by Frankétienne’s Spiralism, the exhibition rejected the straight line. The spiral resists closure. It’s rebirth through motion, beauty through disorder. That’s the pulse of Rat d’Hôtel: movement, contradiction, and resistance through elegance.
Huge thanks to everyone who made it happen: Titus, Lynn Modallal, DJ Kira, Kitchen Session, Plastc_lab, Anne-Lise Franjou, Amer Chamaa, Rami Chamaa, and everyone who helped us turn the flat into a plastic spiral.
The Fantastic Plastic collection continues… more creatures are coming.
written by Amer Chamaa
