Mapping (Un)Solidarities
The exhibition examines (un)solidarity as a means of questioning the notion of solidarity itself and its demands today. 1 October 2022 – 28 February 2023, A.M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah.
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O(u)n Solidarity
Series of diptychs
Well, maybe I should start with this: in the email I sent to the people I had asked to sit for interviews about Qalandiya International IV and its history in a broader context, I included a link for the project I worked on ten years ago about Picasso in Palestine. And so I would say this current project (still thinking about the title) is in some sense a sequel. It’s like ‘Batman Returns’ of that earlier work, An Oral History of Picasso in Palestine.
But an important question arises, what makes me qualified as an outsider to investigate the Palestinian art scene? I would answer like this: I've visited Palestine quite a few times, also for longer trips, so I’m familiar with the contours of the situation and the people in the art scene. And in my work, I also have an interest in using artworks or art projects – or in this case reoccurring exhibitions – to explore the sociology of art or the political economy of art or the social history of art. I’m interested in looking at how all kinds of different interests fit together and intersect within artwork or the art system: how things work, how the art world connects to the economy, and how it connects to the larger political situation, or how it doesn’t fit. And it’s also a personal interest for me: how culture is impacted by protracted political struggle or unresolved conflicts – and you can certainly describe the situation in Palestine as fitting into that category.
Finally, there’s something else I would mention. There’s a term for a certain type of documentary film: longitudinal filmmaking. You just follow where your story leads you. I’m thinking about my work on Qalandiya International and its relation to larger political or economic trends in Palestine this way (and what I’m showing here is a sort of trailer for a larger project on this subject). I don’t have an agenda. I just want to take some snapshots, so to speak, from different perspectives to make a diffuse portrait of the situation. And to get different perspectives. The Jerusalem perspective, the Gaza perspective, the perspective from inside ’48, the perspective of people working at different institutions, and the perspective of artworkers from different generations.
Link to the A5 booklet
© Texts: Artist, the interviewees; Photos: A. M. Qattan Foundation
The exhibition examines (un)solidarity as a means of questioning the notion of solidarity itself and its demands today. 1 October 2022 – 28 February 2023, A.M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah.