It is a profound honour to receive the 1st Honorable Mention at the Contextile Biennale 2024, an international exhibition that showcases innovative and contemporary textile art. The biennale exhibited the artworks of 50 international artists out of 1400. Representing Palestine myself, this recognition affirms my commitment to using wool as a medium to explore themes of identity, heritage, and resistance—particularly within the context of my country.
At the biennale, I presented two Key works coherently built on each other: Around Their Hands and What Remains.
‘Around their Hands’, is a 6:38” video piece that delves into the decline of hand-spinning natural wool in Palestine due to the pressures of Israeli occupation. This work features interviews with women who have inherited the traditional knowledge of spinning and weaving. Through their stories, I uncover the silent disconnection between Palestinians and their resources. The movements of their hands, captured in moments of stillness and activity, evoke a powerful sense of endurance and hope, symbolizing their roles as both keepers of heritage and bearers of knowledge. The video art was brought through the Tadafuq program in 2023, with the curation of the art historian Marta Ramos-Yzquierdo, and first exhibited in Madrid, Spain, in September within a collective exhibition called Tadafuq, 2023 in Casa Arabe.
The other piece “What Remains” is an art installation that examines the intricate relationship between time, material, and labor in the Palestinian ‘hujrah‘, a textile traditionally woven by villagers and Bedouin communities. In this work, I explore how unwinding the rug’s threads challenges notions of immortality in possessions, encouraging viewers to reconsider the labour, space, and symbolic significance of this traditional practice. The process of deconstruction itself mirrors the tension between preserving heritage and adapting to contemporary life. The installation was brought through Alqattan Foundation 2022, with the curation of architect Dr Yazid Anani, and first exhibited in Ramallah, Palestine, within a collective exhibition called Salons.
Both artworks stem from my ongoing research into wool and its historical and cultural significance in Palestine. As an architect and interior designer, I have always been drawn to the rich narrative embedded in natural materials. Wool, in particular, offers an expansive medium to communicate stories of resilience, displacement, and the connection to land and craft. My work invites viewers to engage with these narratives, exploring how traditional practices can inform modern identities and cultural resistance.
I am grateful to the Contextile Biennale jury for this recognition: Cindy Steiler (visual artist), Cláudia Melo (artistic director of Contextile 2024), Janis Jefferies (Emeritus professor of visual arts and curator), Lala de Dios (art historian, curator and textile teacher) and Magda Soboń (textile artist and visual arts teacher). And to the organizers for creating a space where textile art can thrive. This honour strengthens my resolve to continue exploring the intersection of tradition, materiality, and storytelling in my practice. It pushes me forward to keep investigating the free potential of wool-making and communicating more stories from my homeland.
