reverse exodus
columbia university, GSAPPspring 2015 seminar
a curatorial proposal for a group exhibition to be held at the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, West Bank. The show explores notions of exile, separation, borders and re-claiming the Palestinian identity.
“A land without a people, for a people without a land”, perhaps the most oft-cited zionist claim that has been describing the land of Palestine since its occupation in 1948m when more than 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to establish what is now known as Israel. Since then, notions of land, ancestry, and ownership have become the essence of the Right to Return for the Palestinians. Artists emerging from the occupied regions of Palestine and its diaspora have been extensively examining the physical and mental tropes existing across the Palestinian struggle, attempting to deconstruct the psychological symptoms and traumas that are lodged within themes of self, society, culture, and a desire for liberation.
The selected works deal with artists grappling with their identities in relation to land, challenging existing barriers and at the same time speculating the geographic future of Palestine. The work displayed, thus, operates to dismantle the physical and psychological barriers and exiles through speculating the meaning of ‘home’.
“Reverse Exodus:(re)Constructed Visions Within Palestinian Imaginaries” showcases the work of ten Palestinian artists either born, have lived, or currently living in Palestine; with some expressing their connection to the land through exile. The exhibition features select art by internationally known artists like Emily Jacir, Steve Sabella, or Khalil Rabah, and also features art by emerging local artists such as Nidaa Badwan, Amer Shomali and Saba Innab.
exhibition design | curatorial | research
studio: CCCP colloquium with adv. felicity d. scott
