Caramblogage

The many names given to this fence demonstrate the complex semantic relationship between the object itself, the subjects of its effect and those observing and affecting the interplay between them. It is alternatively a separation or security fence or wall in Hebrew. It is the Wall of Apartheid in Arabic. The BBC’s list of acceptable terms lists it, alternately, as “barrier”, “separation barrier” or “West Bank Barrier” to “avoid the political connotations” of the above terms. Its building, continuing presence and oppression attracted a number of artists from around the globe, who began expressing themselves on it almost as soon as the first segment was erected in 2003, with Banksy beginning to paint on the wall in 2005, calling it “the ultimate activity holiday destination for graffiti writers”. Nigel Perry, writing for Electronic Intifada, an independent online news publication that focuses on Palestinian issues, relates an anecdote about a design critic, Nathan Edelson, who ...

Field of Vision - Homeland Is Not A Series from Field Of Vision on Vimeo . These posts are grouped around parts of the "Syrian Monologue" by Wasim Ghrioui from the film  "Homeland is not a series."  You can find a full interview with  Heba Amin,   Don Karl  and  Caram   here . All experiences and views in this are my own and may not reflect anyone else's. Izmir, November 6th-10th This doesn ’ t mean we all like each other , we don ’ t have time to like each other I’m invited to a planning meeting for one of the networks I’m part of. I meet an old friend of mine, the Mediterranean Sea. I’ve missed her and her waters. Most of the time, I am online with Don and Heba after the meetings are over, going over changes, edits and new cuts. I am not very sociable, although the only working internet connection in the hotel is in the main hall we gather in. By the end of the meeting, rather than feel more connected to people I have been wo...

My beautiful friend When did you become death When did the red of a sunset  on your body become  the blood of corpses washed ashore When did you become a mass grave marked by the stones of power instead of a home? Why do I stand before you a year later, so many paths and lives later unable to greet you with the joy you deserve

“ Dear reader permit me to present myself… I, God forbids from the word “I”… My name is 7anzalah , My father’s name is not necessary, My mother… her name is Nakbah and my younger sister’s name is Fatimah… My foot’s size, I don’t know… because I am always barefooted… Date of birth: I was born on June 5th 1967… Nationality” I am not a Palestinian, not Jordanian, not a Kuwaiti, not a Lebanese, not an Egyptian, not anybody… etc… In brief I don’t have an identity and I don’t intend to get nationalized… Simply I am an Arab and that is all… “   The figure of Handhala has become a fixture in the visual semantics of the Palestinian protest movement, in spite of his initial refusal to be nationalised.  Created by the caricaturist Najib Al-Ali (1938—1987) in 1969, the figure represents a 10-year old boy who refuses to grow up until he can return home. He turns his back on the world and clasps his hands behind his back, refuses an outside solution to the conflict th...

Field of Vision - Homeland Is Not A Series from Field Of Vision on Vimeo . These posts are grouped around parts of the "Syrian Monologue" by Wasim Ghrioui from the film "Homeland is not a series." You can find a full interview with Heba Amin, Don Karl and Caram here . All experiences and views in this are my own and may not reflect anyone else's. Berlin, October 16th.  In the middle of the media frenzy surrounding the “Homeland Incident”, we receive an email we did not expect: Laura Poitras, best known for her Oscar-winning documentary Citizenfour, would like to commission the newly-formed Arabian Street Artists to make a short film for her. As we documented our work on the set as extensively as possible, we send her some footage and agree to talk about this soon. I’m leaving to Beirut tomorrow, to join a project working with Syrian refugees in Shatila, one of the oldest refugee settlements in the country. Considering that for the past days, my...

Srdjan Tunic did an interview with me for SeeCult in the Balkans. This is an abbreviated, English translation.  The original and full version of this interview was published by the Serbian-based SEEcult portal:  http://www.seecult.org/vest/dijalog-pocinje-hakovanjem   Homeland , a U.S.A. political thriller television series, based on the Israeli series Hatufim ( Prisoners of War ), is running from 2011 and until now both won several awards (Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy) and was a target to serious criticisms.  The series mainly focus on the U.S. led military interventions and espionage (the main actor, Claire Danes plays the CIA agent Carrie Mathison) in the Near and Middle East, from Pakistan to Lebanon, echoing the current war on terrorism. A Washington Post article from 2014 says that ‘Homeland’ is the most bigoted show on television due to its misrepresentation of Arabs, Muslims and Islam - either being misleading about the culture, history and pronunc...

Note: This statement was co-written with Don Karl And Heba Amin. You may have read about it somewhere. You can find a version of this with all the pictures on Hebas Blog.  An Arabic translation of this statement, courtesy of Rana Jarbou, can be found here Falafel and Alcohol: from the hands of Faiza The falafel stand belongs to an elderly lady named Faiza, a Syrian Christian who has seen a lot of life, and lived in a multicultural society for much of it. She has understood that good food and an occasional drop of Arak solve many problems, and although she sells only falafel and hummus, she added alcohol as a visual reminder of the better times, an act of resistance to her current circumstances and a premonition of a return to the life she once knew and enjoyed, even through hardships. She is well-liked in the neighbourhood, and although her sign does mention Alcohol, it also brings smiles to the residents of the camp. What’s wrong with Homeland's political message? Th...