3000 Palestinian souls take refuge in Edinburgh
3000 Palestinian souls take refuge in Edinburgh
As an artwork symbolising the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948, Return of the Soul: the Nakbah Project has already moved many to tears.
For Palestinians it provokes catharsis, embodying the spirit of a time some would rather were forgotten. For others it provokes questions they would rather not confront, and bitter memories of a hostile era that remains unresolved.
Scottish artist Jane Frere lived and worked with Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank to prepare the work, which depicts a mass exodus of refugees and includes first-hand recollections of Palestinians, who fled their homeland. Many, mere children at the time, tell stories of massacres and atrocities, violence and hardship endured on their road into exile. Many of the events, now regarded as war crimes and 'ethnic cleansing' by historians, have been confirmed by Israeli academics researching the military archives.
These 3,000 wax figures, hanging in limbo "between heaven and earth", are the outcome of workshops in drawing, anatomy, period costume, physical theatre and oral history. "I have become a collector of tears," says the artist, Jane Frere. "So many people wept as they recalled what happened. It was genuinely shocking. And many people who came to the first showing at the Al Hoash Gallery in East Jerusalem also broke down in tears. For them it represents a gaping wound that has not yet healed."
This haunting installation is a sombre reflection upon the consequences of a never-to-be-forgotten tragedy in Europe that cast the Palestinian people into purgatory sixty years ago, sowing the seeds of perpetual unrest in the Middle East.
Return of the Soul: the Nakbah Project
31 July - 18 August 2008
12-6 pm
Patriothall Gallery @WASPS,
Off 48 Hamilton Place
Edinburgh, EH3 5AY
To view images of the Jerusalem exhibition, please visit www.alnakbah.net/media
Links:
Ø Report by Al-Jazeera English on the Jerusalem exhibition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgZr4Xdw2HU
Ø Jane's article in 'This Week in Palestine' describing her personal journey: http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2461&ed=153&edid=153
Ø Birzeit Uni Virtual Gallery: http://virtualgallery.birzeit.edu/tour/exhibition?id=370498 (includes PowerPoint presentation depicting journey, images, background)
Ø Edinburgh Guide: http://www.edinburghguide.com/forums/edinburghartsandentertainment/edinburghfestivals/1999
Ø Saatchi Online TV: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/mtvideobox.php?video_id=665
Ø Evening News: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Trip-inspired-wax-exhibits.4284815.jp
Other key dates:
Sat 2 Aug at 1pm Jane will be talking about her own journey and the exhibition's development in the gallery. Free. RSVP to returnofthsoul@gmail.com
Sat 9 Aug at 3.30pm Jane will be talking on a panel at the Book Fair alongside Israeli historian Ilan Pappe and Palestinian writer/lawyer Raja Shehadeh. Full details at www.edbookfest.co.uk - TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST!
'Return of the Soul: the Nakbah Project' will be on display in Dar al Funun Gallery, Amman from 11 October 2008 to mid January 2009. It will also be exhibiting in Shams Theatre, Lebanon from 15 September to 15 October (TBC)
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The Nakbah Project
General enquiries: 0131 208 1948
Media enquiries: 0208 144 1948