My performance, TOW that I performed at White Box in NYC was the beginning of a series of work that addresses racism and injustices.
In response to my research on the rise in the number of international border walls being built and the separation barrier created by Israel to separate itself from the West Bank, my performance Tow at White Box in New York City tried to illustrate our propensity as human beings to continue to create division amongst ourselves by weaponizing religion, sexual preference, skin color, and country of origin instead of finding ways to coexist with one another.
I was joined together with fellow artist Basem Hassan by a chain that was threaded through a pipe in a wall that separated us. The wall that I constructed was a replica of the Israeli wall that some have referred to as the “anti terrorist fence” or the “racial segregation fence”.
Over the course of 4 hours, we both attempted to pull away from each other to create distance which in turn, resulted in a never-ending stalemate. Two CCTV cameras and televisions were placed on either side of the wall so we could keep watch on one another. Fake glass vases were placed on a shelf that was placed at the top of the wall that would fall to the floor and shatter as the wall shook. On both sides of the conflict, innocent and fragile lives are involved.
In response to my research on the rise in the number of international border walls being built and the separation barrier created by Israel to separate itself from the West Bank, my performance Tow at White Box in New York City tried to illustrate our propensity as human beings to continue to create division amongst ourselves by weaponizing religion, sexual preference, skin color, and country of origin instead of finding ways to coexist with one another.
I was joined together with fellow artist Basem Hassan by a chain that was threaded through a pipe in a wall that separated us. The wall that I constructed was a replica of the Israeli wall that some have referred to as the “anti terrorist fence” or the “racial segregation fence”.
Over the course of 4 hours, we both attempted to pull away from each other to create distance which in turn, resulted in a never-ending stalemate. Two CCTV cameras and televisions were placed on either side of the wall so we could keep watch on one another. Fake glass vases were placed on a shelf that was placed at the top of the wall that would fall to the floor and shatter as the wall shook. On both sides of the conflict, innocent and fragile lives are involved.
