Jerusalem Show VIII: Before and After Origins

Curator: Vivian Ziherl, Frontier Imaginaries

Artists: Bisan Abu Eisheh, Jawad Al Malhi, Richard Bell, Benji Boyadgian, Megan Cope, Alice Creischer, Decolonizing Art Architecture Residency, Aiman Halabi, Gordon Hookey, Saba Innab, Yazan Khalili, Yasser Khangar, Karrabing Film Collective, Jumana Manna, Tshibumba Kanda Matulu, Randa Mdah, Muhammad Mughrabi, NGO (icw Dineo Seshe Bopape, Donna Kukama, George Mahashe & Sinethemba Twalo), Tom Nicholson, Christian Nyampeta, Rachel O’Reilly, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Ryan Presley, Shada Safadeh, Wael Tarabieh, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, and Sawangwongse Yawnghwe. And with contributions from the Canaan Amulets Collection in collaboration with the Birzeit University Museum, as well as contributions from the Collection of George Al Ama.

For its 8th edition the Jerusalem Show (October 6–31, 2016) extends beyond the old city of Jerusalem for Before and After Origins, a two-part exhibition that considers the theme of Return from the Jerusalem perspective. The show is organized by Al Ma’mal Foundation as part of Qalandiya International 2016 under the theme This Sea is Mine.

The Jerusalem Show encompasses a contemporary art exhibition, performances, film screenings, talks, tours and workshops showcasing works of Palestinian and international artists.

The two venues of Al Ma’mal Foundation in the old city, and the Youth Social Centre of the Shu’fat Refugee Camp, east of Jerusalem, each propose a case-study before and after the watershed year of 1948 which witnessed the expulsion of over 60% of the Palestinian population from their land.

While 1948 may be considered the origin of return, the category of “origins” is itself questioned throughout the exhibition, contouring the relations of modernity, colonisation and territorial belonging. In re-considering the nature of origins, Before and After Origins seeks to prise open new dialogues and possible futures of return.

Al Ma’mal Foundation
The exhibition at Al Ma’mal examines the archaeological question of origins, starting with two significant bodies of Palestinian cultural heritage that are themselves unable to return. One is a 6th century mosaic, removed from the Naqab desert after WWI and permanently cemented into the Australian War Memorial, here reconsidered in the work of artist Tom Nicholson. The other is the extensive amulets collection of physician, ethnographer and renowned late-Ottoman Jerusalemite Tawfiq Canaan, now in the care of the Birzeit University Museum (north of Ramallah).

In addition, the motif of the shell emerges among other artist works and archival contributions such as Bethlehem engraved shells from the collection of George Al Ama. It conjures the deep connection of coastal and interior lands and invokes the Qalandiya International title This Sea Is Mine.

Shu’fat Refugee Camp Youth Social Centre
The continuing struggles and global relevance of Return will be the grounding of an extensive exhibition hosted by the Shu’fat Refugee Camp Youth Social Centre. The Refugee Camp of Shu’fat was established in 1967, and although it stands within the municipal boundary of Jerusalem it exists today encircled by the Separation Wall. The residents of Shu’fat thus live both within and without either Israeli or Palestinian formal authority, in a condition of non-elective or abandoned autonomy.

The frame of the exhibition as an “embassy” has been developed in dialogue with local artists and residents, and in response to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy artist project by Richard Bell. Here, the Jerusalem Show is imagined as a place where visiting artists and audiences are hosted by local artists and communities, for the benefit of renewed dialogues and cultural activation upon the question of Return.

The gesture of hospitality is led by artist Jawad Al Malhi. Having exhibited widely in venues including the Venice and Sharjah Biennales, Al Malhi will transform his two-level studio in the Shu’fat Camp into an exhibition space and art workshop area.

Press enquiries
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