Roseann «Razan» Tariq Sijeeni Harvard Graduate School of Design MDes-Critical Conservation 2017
(Dis)Oriented Identities. The Representations of Historic Jeddah “Kant indicates right away that the ‘way out’ that characterizes Enlightenment is a process that releases us from the status of ‘immaturity.” And by ‘ immaturity,’ he means a certain state of our will that makes us accept someone else’s authority to lead us in areas where the use of reason is called for.”1
Introduction. On the 38th session of World Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar, in June 25th, 2014, Historic Jeddah, also known locally as Al Balad, was inscribed under the name Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah as a World Heritage Site (WHS), worthy of UNESCO’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).2 For a site to be considered by UNESCO as worthy of OUV, it must meet at least one out of ten criteria. Jeddah reflected three criteria, the first (ii): Historic Jeddah “represents” an important exchange of human values, evident in the built environment; the second (iv): the historic town is “an outstanding reflection of its final flourishing as a trading and pilgrimage city” ; and the third (vi): Jeddah is, in a tangible and in an intangible level, associated with the annual pilgrimage to Makkah.3 In this project I intend to address the emerging and conflicting issues of “conserving” and “representing” identities of cultural heritage in Al Balad today through an Art Project titled (Dis)Oriented Identities.
1 Michel Foucault, What is Enlightenment? in Rabinow (P.), éd., The Foucault Reader, (New York, Pantheon Books, 1984) 3250-. 2 The site is described on the UNESCO list which is attached at the end of this paper in the appendix. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1361 (accessed 42017/30/) 3 UNESCO, Historic Jeddah, The Gate to Makkah.
By (Dis) Oriented, I mean two things: First: The connotation of the word itself, disorient: losing the sense of direction, referring metaphorically to the current trends in the annual festivals that are taking place in Historic Jeddah today; losing the sense of direction in the realm of “ Identity” representation. But it is also my intention to shed light on the current residents who inhabit the old town, how these newly created festivals disorient their environment and disturb their daily lives. Second: To move forward from Edward Said’s notion of Orientalism, I intend to “Dis-Orientalize” by questioning, and visually showing, whose standards in conservation and whose authority, is being implemented; and embedded even as it is concealing the present social fabric of the old town. The project questions whether the festivals’ representation falls under the category of self-orientalization, as a way to attract tourism, and to appeal and appear genuine and authentic to the stage of the world. “Self-orientalizing vs self-orient” What does conservation represent? Is there a Critical Conservation perspective? The Art Project aspires to embody the complexity of conservation and what it represents in the context of Al Balad. It is a criticism/commentary on the way the festivals represent the culture of the place to the citizens, locals, and to the world. Thus, I argue, the present essence of our cultural heritage is modified by these recent changes and is in the process of oppressing current cultures. And I say essence to refer back to the multiple layers of realities that this project addresses.
(Dis)Oriented Identities is a mixed media project; it consists of 6 short video segments, three models of the urban fabric of the city at various times, and a panorama of the interior of the old town. Supplementing the Art project is the written text, which will be in the format of a digital book. The videos each show different “realities” that are being embedded into the city. The models are an abstract embodiment of the physical distortion and disruption to the built environment through the different master planners who have studied Al Balad beginning with the first master plan in the 1980s, culminating in the present UNESCO nominated area. The panorama is the conclusion with which I hope to visually express the disorientation of identities in the old town, showing how the inhabitants are being overshadowed, and how their “reality” is being erased by the present festivals. As consequence, their “reality” is fragmented and their identity is disoriented. Although noting that panoramas are a modern invention, in my thesis I used it to critisize the wave of modernity that altered the image of Al Balad. Finally, the digital book which narrates the development of Jeddah throughout the centuries, and focuses on the 20th century and the oil boom. In addition, the text will cover the theories that the Art Project manifest.
Six segments that manipulate the continuity of time between Reality, Hyperreality, and Surreality. If each video in every segment is viewed as a capsule that represents a complete past, then each video is a literal depiction of modernity breaking the idea of continuity in history, as each video work as a complete representation of its own reality. Segments... Fragments...Layers: Video: Representations of “Reality,” “Hypereality,” and Surreality https://vimeo.com/217424436