Recently I have been working on my Jewellery pieces, while trying to incorporate more Arabic influences into each piece, whether it be by adding the traditional symbols of protection (the Evil/All-seeing Eye and the Hand of Fatima) or Arabic calligraphy. These are some of the examples of how i have been trying to achieve this.
These are some photos of my original brick collage which I plan on displaying in my final exhibit at our degree show, which was influenced by the work I created for my gap crit at university. I have used a variety of materials in both parts of this work, like broken pieces of brick that I collaged and tried to ‘fix’, evil eyes (handmade by me and ones made in Palestine, Syria and Jordan), glass pieces, a broken piece of teacup, worry beads, stones and fragile plaster bullets that I made with names of the fragile and innocent victims, on them.
Although all the objects act as symbols in themselves; together I hoped they would be able to represent the “rubble” that remained after the chaos, with trinkets and remains of the home and life before it all. I have been enjoying using the objects and trinkets as contributing factors to my work, each with its own voice and input into my work.
Older work:
Newer work:
Lecture on 14/11/13
In this lecture the concept of what is considered to be literal and what is considered to be a phenomenal was questioned. The dictionary states that literal is that something is original and usual or in its most basic sense without metaphor or exaggeration. A phenomenon is something that exists and can be seen, felt, tasted, exc., and is considered unusual or interesting. However when it comes to art we deal with these to in close proximity all the time. When working on your practice, you must constantly question what is literal and what is phenomenal, what is real and what is not, what makes sense to us and why it makes sense because it might not make sense to someone else from a different background. This lecture made me realise that in our work, we must question everything and why we do anything and if it is just a concept or out perception of something.
I began research into the Arab Spring further. I wanted to look at the way lives were affected and what sort of stories I would tell and what life was actually like there. I wanted my work to show the effects of conflict and the impact it had on lives. I looked into the effects especially on the Syrians, who have been forced into refuge and out of their homes. I was deeply saddened by the way people where treated and dehumanised. Over 40,000 Syrians moved to Jordan and into the Zaatari refugee camp in the last year. The camp has become somewhat of a ghost-like town of its own, with families living there mourning loved ones and silently trying to move on with life, shattered by the chaos back home. The reality of living at the park is one I do not think many know of; children work and are treated as adults and are expected to provide for the family as well as the adults and most families live in UN provided tents. Thousands of lives were sadly lost and many injured. Mothers lost children and mourn them, fathers lost brothers and neighbours. All were affected and still suffer everyday. However one thing i noticed and I was extremely fascinated by through my research (such as videos and articles which I will list and link below) is that children remain innocent. By saying this I don’t mean normal learning process and lack of knowledge, but the honesty and pureness of children. Despite all the chaos and trouble, the sadness and depression, children always find a way to cheer themselves up and make the best out of a situation; no matter how stressful. This was something I really want to research further.
This is a link to a documentary about the problems occurring in Syria and the effects it has on the lives of the people who live there. (WARNING: contains very graphic imagery – viewer discretion is advised!)
Z.A.P Art 