Palestine Anti-Memorial Project

Since October 7, 2023, we have all watched in mute horror a kind of geopolitical violence that at least I could have never imagined. I never thought that something like this could happen now, in this day and age, with the UN and its many resolutions, and the lessons that nation-states should have learned from the numerous partitions, wars and genocides of the last century. But, here we are. A highly publicized genocide has been unleashed in the 21st century in front of our eyes. Ceasefires and treaties notwithstanding, the killing has continued in Gaza and the West Bank. 

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As an artist, and an artist who specifically tussles with partitions and their aftermath and their memorialization, I have never felt more helpless. This is not a historic event that happened in the past; it is happening now and it is ongoing. What can I do that would make an iota of a difference? Could I change, nay, even influence US policy and Israeli occupation strategies, in any way at all? My vote really didn't count for much this past election, and making artwork is a luxury in these economic times. It's been a rather dark three years. I stopped posting on Instagram and the socials, and felt desolate emptiness in my studio. 

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But then somehow, I found a community of brave and fearless Palestinian women in the diaspora, who have come together to make Tatreez, a beautiful form of embroidery that embodies resistance, craftsmanship, and beauty in women's quiet labor and community. Bayan Fares of Badan Collective and Wafa Ghnaim of Tatreez and Tea taught me the history, techniques and contemporary forms of Tatreez. The practice and community of Tatreez has given me hope and inspiration to keep creating in a meaningful way. For me, the practice of doing Tatreez in community functions as a form of non-violent peaceful protest.

 

​I recently came across this quote by Shahd Alnaami, a Palestinian writer, poet and translator - "I write because I believe that there is always hope. Hope, however fragile, is an act of resistance." I guess, that's why I will continue to make Tatreez and other forms of art, simply as a fragile gesture of hope and resistance. 

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The works I am presenting here in the Palestine Anti-Memorial Project are not all finished, resolved, polished and ready to exhibit. Many of them are works-in-progress, and all of them are works-in-hope and works-in-resistance. Tatreez has many motifs that allude to the Palestinian flag, graves, barbed wire fences, and more. These motifs subvert Zionist narratives that erase the history and culture of the Palestinian people.