The Apocalyptic Cup, 2024
Wild clay cup, copper cups, beer, audio.


A fear cup is a small vessel engraved with sacred Qur’anic verses, traditionally used in Arab folk medicine to cure fear and panic. When someone is afraid, the cup is filled with water and left on the doorstep overnight under moonlight. The next morning, the water, believed to have absorbed the verses' power, is given to the person to drink, calming their fears.

In this work, the fear cup is crafted from wild clay sourced from a Palestinian refugee camp, representing the physical aftermath of the cyclic apocalyptic realities imposed on Palestinians by Israel and its Western allies. This cup embodies the experience with the Apocalyptic Self, a process of transformation, witnessing the ongoing apocalypse of Palestinians while in European institutions that deny Indigenous peoples' full humanity. Palestinian poet George Abraham describes the "Apocalyptic Self" as a state where multiple selves inhabit the body—manifesting as the selves that survived, the selves we become, and those we had to "kill" to become. This state arises from the tension of being forced to exist within a colonial imagination that denies the full humanity of Indigenous peoples and the need to reclaim and reconstruct identity in order to resist oppression.

I believe the Apocalyptic Self is a form of resistance, and that resistance itself is healing- an amulet against oppression. In this installation, the public is invited to drink from the fear cup, filled with beer instead of water. This act embodies my internal experience with the Apocalyptic Self and extends it into a communal experience, aiming at transforming the old brewery into a site of "brewing the self," where it becomes a space for

a collective resistance, transformation, and healing.

This work includes an audio narrative; a recorded amulet titled Resistance is an Amulet.

On the walls of the room where the work is exhibited, reflections of the verses engraved on the wild clay cup are traced and painted. This gesture aims at transforming the room into a site of healing and resistance, extending the power carried by the fear cups.

In July 2024, I received a respectful invitation from Art Lab Gnesta to do an art residency. This generous invitation gave me the time, space, and financial support to be able to reflect over my experience with the Apocalyptic Self and produce this work without conditions.

As an extension to The Apocalyptic Cup, the ritual A Tale of Water and Clay, 2025 was organized in collaboration with Ayn Hawd initiative, on a rooftop in Mohammad Amin refugee capm.

Raghad Resres talks about The Apocalyptic Cup at Art Lab Gnesta.


Audio Amulet
A recorded amulet “Resistance is an Amulet.” The audio bridges individual and collective reflections.

Wall Tracing
On the walls where the work is exhibited, reflections of the verses engraved on the wild clay cup are traced and painted. This gesture aims at transforming the space into a site of healing and resistance, extending the power carried by the fear cups.

Copper Fear Cups
These cups are offered to the public for drinking, aiming to translate transformation into a shared, communal one. By drinking from the cups, the space becomes a site of collective ritual for resilience and healing.

 

Photos by Erik Viklund