The Cloaked Talisman is a talismanic shirt, akin to those traditionally used by Arabs, Persians, and people of the Indian subcontinent for protection. The body is cloaked in sacred words, invoking healing and protection. The origins of talismanic shirts are said to be rooted in the story of Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, who sent his shirt to his father, Jacob, restoring his sight. These shirts have historically been associated with warfare and with warding off illness, plague, and other harms that threaten the body and the soul.

But what if the plague were Zionism?

In this shirt, texts and materials emerging from histories of resistance to the coloniser become a means of protecting the body and the soul from colonial violence. The shirt divides the body into multiple zones, each assigned a specific text and material intended to protect that part of the body.