Brainstorming:
For the Memory Object project, it was important for me to stir away from the cliche as our teacher has emphasized that. I began by writing down any memories that came to my mind, I wanted my project to be personal to me but also to be relatable to others and evoke the mood that my memory carries. I decided on a memory of my Grandfather who would take me to pick out olives from his farm and then take us to the olives mill to make olive oil for the family. Olives are a symbol of Palestinian culture that my Grandpa carried with him from Palestine to Jordan as a refugee. As an erasure of our history, Zionist forces are burning down and cutting olive trees. I wanted to portray this switch of mood in memory throughout this piece.
Preliminary Iterations:
I enjoy working with food as processes are very unique and experimental, I didn’t know how I will achieve my desired look but I was excited to test different ways. Firstly, I arranged the olives into the shape of the frame and then squashed them in order to get them to fit. I tried to achieve the gradient by using a lighter but it did not do anything. I sucked some moisture out of the olives and used a pan to achieve my gradient. While arranging the piece, the pressure and heat broke the glass. Even though that was unfortunate and I had to purchase another frame, it allowed me to play around more with the composition as I had access to the front of it now.
In addition, when I began this project I was looking for a silver frame as it mimics to me metal rods in Israeli prison. Yet, I found that a gold frame complemented the piece better as they both exhibited warm tones.
Final Composite and Statement:
Roots is a sculpture that frames a moment of my childhood in a manner that explores the politics of my memories. In this piece, a frame holds within it a gradient of dried olives that highlights how as I grew older my happy memories of picking olives with my Grandpa are no longer happy. The theme of loss of culture and identity is explored as the piece references the Israeli military’s colonial tactic of erasure done by burning down olive trees, a symbol of Palestine’s culture and history.
Draft Poem:
I hold within my skeleton a moment of time;
one that converges a world of his and a world of theirs
He left her;
but he took her stems with him
He is they and they are he;
but ashes have poisoned their tree
I hold within my skeleton a moment of life;
one that converges a world of death and a world of life
