DUBAI: Hightlights from Yazan Abu Salameh’s ‘Fragile Nest,’ which runs at Zawyeh Gallery in Ramallah until July 18.
‘Nest’
In his new show, the Bethlehem-born artist addresses the “increasing presence of cement” in Palestinian towns, where restrictions imposed by the occupation mean that urban expansion has, by necessity, become vertical. The inclusion of Lego in this work “mirrors the allure of new housing, yet both can be dismantled in moments … (the artist) challenges the commercialization of homes and mourns the loss of open skies and nature.”
‘Fragile Nest’
In some of the pieces on display, such as the show’s title work, shown here, “a horse or a flock of birds appear, symbolizing an attempt to recover a lost nature; yet these attempts remain fragile in the face of concrete intrusion” that has seen “the recession of Palestinian nature at an accelerating pace in favor of a colonial geography … imposed by the occupation.”
‘Under The Sun’
In this exhibition, the press release states, “the homeland becomes the fragile nest as the artist draws attention to the importance of rethinking the relationship between home, land, and the horizon.” It is “a protest on a daily scene that no longer … represents (Abu Salameh) and his generation; it is a form of rebellion against colonized nature.”
