Beauty through transformation

During Lebanon's long civil war (1975-1990), shell casings littered the streets of Beirut. These were picked up and strung together. Why? Evidence of a humanity driven to ennoble itself-or yet more testimony to failings as old as humankind? These beads give us a glimpse into the mind of a soul striving to find beauty in a scenario of ugliness. The meanings of beads cut across cultures and time. Were the actors upon the ancient stage much like us, so that we can understand their motivations? Or were they playing to a script that is untranslatable to an audience from another time, another society? Beads answer these questions for us.