Edge of Town
Oil paintings.
Inspired by my childhood spent in Palestine, these works represent my slow sense of displacement from Palestinian culture as I grow older.
The summer I was 18, my family visited Palestine. As we drove down the highway one evening, we saw cars pulling over ahead; turning off the radio we heard sirens screaming. People left their cars, looked up, and watched a missile’s trail cut the sky in half above us. I had lived in Palestine as a teenager and visited every summer as a child. Air raid drills were common in schools and cities but I had never seen a real rocket before.
One of my earliest memories of Palestine is the smell of burning. Trash and crop burning is very common over there, especially among the smaller villages and along the highways of farm fields at night. I have never experienced anything like it growing up in the states. I have always lived in the space between two lands. I am half Palestinian and half American and I speak very few words of Arabic. My entire life I have relied on my father to communicate with my family and make me comfortable in this culture that is supposed to be my own. This series of Burn paintings explores my sense of displacement. They are not only a literal representation of my memories of Palestine, but also this widening distance I have carved between myself and my culture as I have grown older.
Oil paintings.
Inspired by my childhood spent in Palestine, these works represent my slow sense of displacement from Palestinian culture as I grow older.
The summer I was 18, my family visited Palestine. As we drove down the highway one evening, we saw cars pulling over ahead; turning off the radio we heard sirens screaming. People left their cars, looked up, and watched a missile’s trail cut the sky in half above us. I had lived in Palestine as a teenager and visited every summer as a child. Air raid drills were common in schools and cities but I had never seen a real rocket before.
One of my earliest memories of Palestine is the smell of burning. Trash and crop burning is very common over there, especially among the smaller villages and along the highways of farm fields at night. I have never experienced anything like it growing up in the states. I have always lived in the space between two lands. I am half Palestinian and half American and I speak very few words of Arabic. My entire life I have relied on my father to communicate with my family and make me comfortable in this culture that is supposed to be my own. This series of Burn paintings explores my sense of displacement. They are not only a literal representation of my memories of Palestine, but also this widening distance I have carved between myself and my culture as I have grown older.
My Dearest World
Brand + Handmade Jewelry
Brand + Handmade Jewelry