Amoula il Majnoona

Amoula's blog from Ramallah

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Untitled (servees) (بلا عنوان‏(سرفيس

I am exhibiting a new work in this years Jerusalem Show. It opens next Wednesday night so if you are in Palestine please come to the opening and party! There are a lot of great artists taking part in the show.

I can not post this without noting the fact that most of my friends and my family will not be able to come because they are West Bank I.D holders living in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus etc and the Israeli state forbids them from entering Jerusalem.


Untitled (servees) (بلا عنوان‏(سرفيس


"Untitled (servees)" is an audio work located at Damascus Gate (Bab il Amoud) which stands at the start of the road leading to Nablus and onward to Damascus. Once a massive hub of the main regional transport network of serveeses (communal taxis), it had direct links to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, Kuwait as well as every urban Palestinian center such as Lyd, Jaffa, Ramallah, Nablus, Gaza, Ramle. Damascus Gate was the point where servees drivers used to pick up customers by calling out the names of their various destinations. "Untitled (servees)" recalls that purpose and the once fluid space of movement, connection and exchange and attempts to make visible the fractures and interactions of everyday life within the disintegrating urban landscape. Calling out cities servees drivers recall their destinations.

This audio work is a part of ongoing long-term research, which explores and investigates the disappearing transportation network in Palestine and its implications on the physical and social experience of space. This is a result of the ongoing fragmentation and continued destruction of the urban landscape by the Israeli Occupation.

بلا عنوان (سرفيس)

"بلا عنوان (سرفيس)" هو عمل فنيّ سماعيّ مسجل في "باب العامود" والذي يقع على بداية الطريق المؤدية إلى مدينة نابلس، ومنها تستمر إلى دمشق.

كان "باب العامود" في فترة ما المركز الرئيسي لشبكة مواصلات المركبات العمومية، وكان نقطة الوصل المباشرة لبيروت، عمّان بغداد،والكويت، بالإضافة إلى مراكز مدنية رئيسية في فلسطين، مثل اللدّ و الرملة، يافا، رام الله، نابلس،وغزّة. في ذلك الزمن،كان سائقو هذه المركبات العمومية يتجمعون في ساحة باب العامود ليقلّواُ الركاب عن طريق نداء - بأصوات مرتفعة - أسماء المدن المختلفة التي يقصدونها. وبناءً على هذا التاريخ، يقوم عمل "بلا عنوان (سرفيس)" بإعادة ذكرى ذلك الزمن الذي كانت فيه الحركة حرّة تتدفق بلا عقبات، حيث كان هناك تواصل وتبادل بين الناس. ويحاول أن يظهر التشقق و طبيعة التفاعل في الحياة اليومية ما بين المناطق الجغرافية المدنية والتي في حالة تفسّخ مستمر. وبمناداة أسماء المدن، يتذكر سائقو السرفيسات تلك الأماكن التي كانوا يقصدونها.

هذا العمل السماعي هو جز من مشروع بحث طويل الأمد الذي يتحرّى ويحقق في واقع تلاشي شبكة المواصلات في فلسطين وتداعيات هذا التلاشي وتأثيره على مفهوم الحيّز من النواحِ المادية والاجتماعية؛ وما هذا إلاّ نتيجة استمرار أعمال تشقيق وتدمير الأراضي المتعمدة من قبل الاحتلال الإسرائيلي



MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE JERUSALEM SHOW
http://www.almamalfoundation.org/

The Jerusalem Show, edition 0.1, July 9-19, 2008

A Contemporary Art Show in the Old City of Jerusalem

Wednesday, 9 July

19:00 Opening Exhibition Tour with curator Jack Persekian starting from Al-Ma'mal Foundation, New Gate

21:00 Opening Reception , Padico Services, Haret Al-Sa'idiyeh

Participating Artists:

Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Mohammad Al-Hawajri, Jawad Al-Malhi, Basma Al-Sharif, Berndt Anwander, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Phil Collins, Aissa Deebi, Sophie Elbaz, Roza El-Hassan, Hana Farah, Akram Halabi, Emily Jacir, Leopold Kessler, Jumana Manna, Sliman Mansour, Henrik Placht, Judy Price, Nathalie Retivoff, Peter Riedlinger, Nida Sinnokrot, Samir Srouji, Oraib Toukan, Elisabeth Von-Samsonow, Wafaa Yasin, Inass Yassin, Manar Zuaibi

7 Comments:

At 6:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds wonderful! Wish I could be there. Mom.

 
At 4:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The picture of the car along with the narrative associated with it reminded me of my early childhood (early 1970's).
As a young boy in Bethlehem, I used to watch a TV comedy show set in Jerusalem, called "Ami Bishara" ('My uncle Bishara'), a taxi driver (Bishara) who used to park his taxi (along with all other taxi drivers) just below Jaffa Gate.
The plot in the show mainly revolved around Bishara and his hilarious encounters with the passengers, from the moment he would try to "steal" them from other taxi drivers until he would drop them off at their destinations within Jerusalem.
If i am not mistaken the protagonist was played by either the late Bassam Zu'mot or one of his TV colleagues (whose name i forget now) who later appeared with him in "Mat'am Abu Rami".
I am sure your work would bring a sense of melancholy to those who lived during that time in Jerusalem especially, but also in palestine.
Good luck and all the best.

Andre Dabdoub
andre@dabdoub.ps

 
At 12:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Emily,
You might remeber me as I spoke with you in 2002 about being on an artist/activist panel for Parsons here in NY.

Hoping you might be available in Spring 2009 to do a lecture at The New School Fine Arts Dept.

peter@peterdrakeartist.com

 
At 12:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Emily,
People of Jerusalem, don’t have much respect to this so called “Jerusalem Show” and the rest of AL-mamal foundation "activities"..
But your work still amazing and we know what you stand for.
We hope to see your work away from Jack Persician cheap touristy projects.

With love and respect

 
At 5:13 AM, Blogger kathy said...

Dear Palestinian from Jerusalem,

Your comment is saddening, for it indicates how divided people here are. I don't know if you came to the show or not, but if you did, you would have seen that the show came from a dedication to and love for Palestine.

Your comment might be better served if it included some constructive criticism rather than a bunch of weightless insults.

kathy

 
At 6:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kathy is a nickname of Jack Perskian himself the owner of Al-Maamal touristy foundation!! What dedication and love you are talking about mr. Jack.. is it the same “love” you are doing at Sharjah Biennial these days?!

 
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