Dancing Edifices, 2024
Digital paintings on Japanese paper. 50x70.18 cm.
“Dancing Edifices,” is a series of digital paintings in which I aim to evoke visually induced motion sickness through re-compositions of the spatial architecture of East Amman's Palestinian refugee camps. This type of motion sickness can occur when there is visual stimulation in the absence of physical movement. This endeavour reimagines the camp's architectural challenges, reshaping the physical space's movement and organisation, transcending the confines of mere bodily motion. These images open possibilities for questioning or reimagining embodied experiences within the camp's physical and social structure.
The Palestinian refugee camps are the physical aftermath of ongoing colonial oppression, standing as living ruins of a continuous catastrophe. The Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan were established as temporary refuge spaces in response to the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948 and the subsequent Naksa (setback) in 1967[1], whereby the Israeli occupation forcibly uprooted Palestinians from their native land and thousands of the Palestinians subsequently sought refuge in Jordan[2]. Dancing Edifices explores remnants of an architectural and social order that continues to affect movement and interaction.
As an extension to this project, the workshop Whispers in Concrete: Exploring Women's Stories with Architecture, was conducted in Hammarkullen Kultur Hus, Gothenburg.
Artwork commissioned by Carl Olson’s stipendiefond, 2023.
[1] Department of Palestinian Affairs, "Palestinian Refugees And Displaced Camps in Jordan," Department of Palestinian Affairs, accessed March 5, 2024, URL.https://dpa.gov.jo/En/List/Palestinian_Refugees_And_Displaced_Camps_in_Jordan.
[2] Maher Charif, "Nakba, Stages of a Forced Displacement ," Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestinian Question, accessed March 5, 2024, URL. https://www.palquest.org/en/highlight/160/nakba