A Talisman on the Secret of Victgory and Triumph ,  2025
indigo, reused fabric, cotton, Sudanese charcoal. 60x70 cm.

Whoever inscribes this talisman in a fully prepared retreat, in a state of complete purity and sincere devotion, shall be granted—by God’s grace—the secret of victory and triumph over colonizers.

This talisman is made from reused fabric dyed with indigo, a natural dye historically used as a magical substance in Arab spiritual healing practices. It activates the latent powers embedded in Qur’anic verses, in the names of freedom fighters, and in the song “Tzannari Yamzannara”, one of the Palestinian resistance songs sung for the fedaiyat—Palestinian women fighters.

The talisman is embroidered with symbols once used in the Arab world as spiritual amulets traditionally stamped onto the body, here imprinted onto the fabric using blue and red cotton. This talisman centers the magical energies carried by the UNRWA ration card, as a protector of Palestinian identity and the right of return. (The ration card is a document issued by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees after the 1948 Nakba. It is granted to those who resided in Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 war, as well as to the descendants of those original refugees.)

I worked on creating this talisman during my  residency at MMAG Foundation.