When thinking about what inspires me most as an artist, I often think about my culture. It brings me comfort and connects me to my family and country no matter where I am in the world. Over the past two years, I’ve developed a strong interest in producing work inspired by my culture. Not only am I able to learn more about where I come from, but I’m able to educate those around me as well. As a Palestinian who has never been able to visit her country, I’ve always felt somewhat disconnected from who I am. Making art inspired by my culture allows me constantly stay connected to my heritage, and find ways to expose the beauty of my people and country to the world. For the Final Major Project, I explored a topic that I was very passionate about, and that accurately represented my identity as an individual and an artist.
The final idea for my project is to investigate the world of traditional Palestinian embroidery in order to showcase the Palestinian woman’s creativity, craft, courage, perseverance, and hard work. Despite all the bad and the good, the Palestinian woman will find her way through with elegance and grace. She is able to see beauty all around her no matter the circumstance and share it with the community around her through storytelling in her embroidery. Each motif and symbol communicate a message to the viewer and represent a part of Palestine’s history that will remain alive because of her. To me, this describes the women in my family. I have watched them be ‘Palestinian women’ my whole life, and aim to be like them every day. Embroidery is passed down through generations, but with that come the attributes of a fierce and courageous woman, who despite everything, has always managed to find a way to work with what she has. To me, my grandmother represents everything it is to be a Palestinian woman. She has fled war, raised four children as a single mother, survived breast cancer, and still gives everything to those around her. From her, I learned embroidery, but from her, I also learned what it means to be a Palestinian woman.
For the final outcome of this project, I wanted to create a body of work that represents the Palestinian woman, by focusing on traditional embroidery practices and the complex intergenerational relationships that exist within it. I was very drawn to the idea of how embroidery is passed down through generations, changing and adapting to the identity of the embroiderer. Each generation draws inspiration from the women that came before them and create something completely new and unique to who they are. Palestinian embroidery is all about expressing one’s identity, and telling a story through images and colours. For this project, I created an installation that combines these themes and ideas into one final product. The installation consists of a suspended tent-like structure, and inside hang intricately embroidered pieces of traditional Palestinian motifs. I created a tent to reflect what the Palestinian women in my life represent: love, security, comfort, warmth, and most importantly, home. These embroidered pieces incorporate traditional imagery, yet are made using contemporary colours that reflect my style as an artist. Additionally, each embroidered piece is individually beaded and embellished with materials that symbolise Palestine such as coins, hands, and the evil eye. On the back of each of the embroidered pieces, I’ve added Linocut prints I made using Palestinian embroidery motifs.
