Art Opening: Contemporary Artists from Palestine

Chic Point. Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints. Sharif Waked (2003)
Video DVD (7 Min.)

Art Opening: Contemporary Artists from Palestine
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 6:00 pm at Postmasters Gallery

Opening: July 7, 2009, 6-8pm.
Show runs July 7 - Aug 8, 2009, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11am-6pm

Postmasters Gallery
459 West 19th Street
Between 9th and 10th Aves
New York, NY 10011
(212) 727-3323
http://www.postmastersart.com/

“The Thousand and One Nights” brings together photographs, video, and paintings by six contemporary artists from Palestine whose work explores the political and social dimensions of time. While the works reflect the conditions of conflict and occupation, they are not entirely defined by those.

The works in this exhibition are inherently political, but their messages are coded and delivered with deliberate subtlety that demands the focused attention of viewers. Some explore conflicts that are timeless. Shadi Habib Allah’s animation, On-going Tale depicts the age-old conflict between man and beast that never reaches resolution. Sharif Waked’s Jericho First draws on imagery from the 8th century (CE), reflecting persistent visual symbols of power that extend through human history.

Other artists explore their relationships to older generations. In his Pères series, Taysir Batniji photographs portraits of family patriarchs that hang prominently in Gaza shops. The images are displayed honorifically, but Batniji’s photos highlight the power dynamics implied within them. Jumana Manna’s work, Familiar exemplifies a different relationship to her elders, whereby in photograph and video, the artist (an adult in her early twenties) is breastfed by her mother, depicting an image at once nurturing and discomforting.

The Artists:

Taysir Batniji (born Gaza, now Paris)
Hanna Farah-Kufer Bir’im (born Algish, now Tel Aviv, Jaffa, and Kufer Birim)
Shadi Habib Allah (born Jerusalem, now New York City)
Shuruq Harb (Ramallah)
Jumana Manna (Oslo)
Sharif Waked (born Nazareth, now Haifa)

Curators: Michael Connor and Mary Evangelista