Exhibition
8 July – 26 July 2011
an installation by
Nadira Araj
In this work, Nadira Araj researched the UN Security Council (SC) resolutions concerning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In her artist statement she explains that she found that the UN resolution numbers come in chronological order. She used playing cards to form the set of each single resolution. On the back of each set are pasted excerpts from the original resolution, the UN attempts for solving this conflict. Between these sets of cards you will find the Joker cards placed randomly to represent the use of the Veto that nullifies some critical issues in the conflict. As you get to the end of the installation the unused cards are put in a random pile to represent the resolutions to be taken in the future, and on the back of each card you will find the most common words used in the UN Security Council.
The length of this installation represents the length of time SC resolutions have not been implemented. The artist states, “From my perspective, I feel as if the members of the UN are ‘playing cards with our lives, shuffling us around like a deck of cards.'”
“Olive Leaf Jewelry”
The olive branch is an international symbol of peace. As told in the story of Noah and the Ark, “The dove came back to him at evening, and, behold, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth.”
To Palestinians the olive tree is a symbol of freedom and an expression of defiance. It can grow anywhere and survive through very cold winters and very hot and dry summers.
Nadira Araj has created a collection interpreting the olive leaf in jewelry, a wearable symbol of the peace and sovereignty Palestinians strive for.
