The fragility of homeland
As we hopelessly witness the carnage in Gaza it is probably futile and somewhat arrogant to philosophize and write anything. Between Islamist and Zionist agenda children and innocent lives are wasted and we carry on blogging and signing our petitions.But sometime we do have to write and survive, it is better than silence. Maybe we have to look towards art for solace and find inspiration to resist and protest in a more effective, humane way. I present you Emily Jacir and her art project called Where We come From, currently in display at the San Francisco MOMA.
Jacir's photographs are simple but yet profoundly reminds us about the impact of simple art. Her work reminds us about the homes we lost, the homes we gained, the homes that we made where there wasn't any "home", and that very "home" that we never found or visited:
She used her U.S. passport to gain access to the occupied territories and come back -- a task which might sound surprisingly simple but is extremely difficult for some people. While she was there she took requests from people and fulfilled each wish:
"Go to Haifa and play soccer with the first Palestinian boy you see on the street."
"Drink the water in my parents' village."
"Go to Bayt Lahia and bring me a photo of my family, specially of my brother's kids."
"Go to the Israeli post office in Jerusalem and pay my phone bill."
"Go to my mother's grave in Jerusalem on her birthday and place flowers and pray."
Jacir's photographs are simple but yet profoundly reminds us about the impact of simple art. Her work reminds us about the homes we lost, the homes we gained, the homes that we made where there wasn't any "home", and that very "home" that we never found or visited:
She used her U.S. passport to gain access to the occupied territories and come back -- a task which might sound surprisingly simple but is extremely difficult for some people. While she was there she took requests from people and fulfilled each wish:
"Go to Haifa and play soccer with the first Palestinian boy you see on the street."
"Drink the water in my parents' village."
"Go to Bayt Lahia and bring me a photo of my family, specially of my brother's kids."
"Go to the Israeli post office in Jerusalem and pay my phone bill."
"Go to my mother's grave in Jerusalem on her birthday and place flowers and pray."