RAEDA SAADEH: REFRAMING PALESTINE

video and performance artist Raeda Saadeh conveys the

raeda saadeh

In this first monograph of her work, photographer, installation, many paradoxes, ironies and frustrations of daily life in her homeland, Palestine, with captivating humour and charm.

Drawing from influences as diverse as the European great master painters and ancient fairy tales, she presents an upbeat strength and positivity that encourage the viewer to do a double-take and reconsider entrenched opinions.

rose issa projects beyond art production

£ 10.00

raeda saadeh Reframing Palestine

Edited by Rose Issa

contents

reframing palestine 06 by rose issa

Why me? 12 by victoria brittain

true tales, fairy tales 20 by francesca ricci

masters to disasters 38 by juliet cestar

From victim to saviour 54

by Aida Nasrallah

biography 58 bibliography 60

4

5

contents

reframing palestine 06 by rose issa

Why me? 12 by victoria brittain

true tales, fairy tales 20 by francesca ricci

masters to disasters 38 by juliet cestar

From victim to saviour 54

by Aida Nasrallah

biography 58 bibliography 60

4

5

reframing palestine by rose issa

“I belong to a country that commits suicide every day,

I see a close link between Raeda Saadeh’s work and the

while it is being assassinated.” Nadia Tuéni

Sentimental Archives of a War in Lebanon, a book of poems published in 1982 by the great Lebanese poet Nadia Tuéni

Raeda Saadeh is always performing, for she draws little

(1935-1983).2 Even though Saadeh’s work is about Palestine,

distinction between life and art. She is an intriguing woman:

which has been reduced into the world’s largest prison (Gaza)

a teacher, daughter, wife and mother who is constantly juggling

and the world’s largest waiting room (the West Bank), one

a complex situation, for as a Muslim Palestinian with an Israeli

can draw parallels between the poet and the artist, and for

passport, she can not visit any of the Arab countries that exhibit

this reason she is quoted in Juliet Cestar’s text on page 38.

her work. Driven by her passions and eager for admiration, she is divided by the paradoxes within her society, which she tries

In her performances, video installations and photographs,

to understand, share and resolve.

Raeda explores a variety of subjects and merges with the political landscape of her occupied country, Palestine. Her

Many artists from the Middle East are often frustrated that critics

work can be interpreted as a description of the body and

emphasise their nationality, while failing to address aspects of

as a commentary on politics and gender. She explores the

their work outside the confines of Middle Eastern politics. But how

dangers and confines of her world, but through recreating

can Raeda Saadeh – a Palestinian artist with Israeli documents

beautiful scenes with backgrounds that seem benign at first

who studied in Hebrew at an Israeli University – not be constantly

glance but on closer inspection reflect the destruction of her

aware of her background? How can her work not be somehow

homeland. Her work can also be read a multitude of ways,

linked to her daily experience of the politics of her surroundings,

from living in a permanent state of actual political occupation

having to negotiate checkpoints, witness the destruction of

to having to respect the “psychological occupation” of old

ancient and modern Palestinian villages and the construction

and even archaic socio-religious traditions. She questions

of Israeli settlements? Saadeh manages to transcend the conflict

the taboos surrounding virginity in the performance, Visceral

through art, by playing with anachronism, and experiencing a

(page 14), vanity in the installation, Lipsticks (page 17), and

sort of rebirth through pain and ecstasy.

marriage in the performance Black Bride (page 55). Her art

1

6

Dance With Me, performance, Jerusalem, 1999

7

reframing palestine by rose issa

“I belong to a country that commits suicide every day,

I see a close link between Raeda Saadeh’s work and the

while it is being assassinated.” Nadia Tuéni

Sentimental Archives of a War in Lebanon, a book of poems published in 1982 by the great Lebanese poet Nadia Tuéni

Raeda Saadeh is always performing, for she draws little

(1935-1983).2 Even though Saadeh’s work is about Palestine,

distinction between life and art. She is an intriguing woman:

which has been reduced into the world’s largest prison (Gaza)

a teacher, daughter, wife and mother who is constantly juggling

and the world’s largest waiting room (the West Bank), one

a complex situation, for as a Muslim Palestinian with an Israeli

can draw parallels between the poet and the artist, and for

passport, she can not visit any of the Arab countries that exhibit

this reason she is quoted in Juliet Cestar’s text on page 38.

her work. Driven by her passions and eager for admiration, she is divided by the paradoxes within her society, which she tries

In her performances, video installations and photographs,

to understand, share and resolve.

Raeda explores a variety of subjects and merges with the political landscape of her occupied country, Palestine. Her

Many artists from the Middle East are often frustrated that critics

work can be interpreted as a description of the body and

emphasise their nationality, while failing to address aspects of

as a commentary on politics and gender. She explores the

their work outside the confines of Middle Eastern politics. But how

dangers and confines of her world, but through recreating

can Raeda Saadeh – a Palestinian artist with Israeli documents

beautiful scenes with backgrounds that seem benign at first

who studied in Hebrew at an Israeli University – not be constantly

glance but on closer inspection reflect the destruction of her

aware of her background? How can her work not be somehow

homeland. Her work can also be read a multitude of ways,

linked to her daily experience of the politics of her surroundings,

from living in a permanent state of actual political occupation

having to negotiate checkpoints, witness the destruction of

to having to respect the “psychological occupation” of old

ancient and modern Palestinian villages and the construction

and even archaic socio-religious traditions. She questions

of Israeli settlements? Saadeh manages to transcend the conflict

the taboos surrounding virginity in the performance, Visceral

through art, by playing with anachronism, and experiencing a

(page 14), vanity in the installation, Lipsticks (page 17), and

sort of rebirth through pain and ecstasy.

marriage in the performance Black Bride (page 55). Her art

1

6

Dance With Me, performance, Jerusalem, 1999

7

10

Emergency Room, 2002 11

10

Emergency Room, 2002 11

Chesterton’s view, though imbued with Christian morality, does

nut trees. In Saadeh’s version, smiling innocently, she ventures

present some interesting observations: “If you really read the fairy

unaware into a forest of skyscrapers, their menacing shadows

tales, you will observe that one idea runs from one end of them

about to swallow her, to take bread to “the other side” – the

to the other – the idea that peace and happiness can only exist

Palestinians who live under occupation. It is the moment when

on some condition. This idea, which is the core of ethics, is the

destiny prepares to strike.

core of the nursery tales. The whole happiness of fairyland hangs Penelope, coming from ancient Greek myths rather than universal

upon a thread, upon one thread. Cinderella may have a dress

folk tales, is perhaps the most striking of the four heroines. She

woven on supernatural looms and blazing with unearthly brilliance; but she must be back when the clock strikes twelve.”

5

is a symbol of virtue and loyalty – in line with the tales’ morality – but she is also a clever woman that buys time by doing and

Saadeh’s photographs are indeed addressing a grown-up public,

undoing her knitting in order to postpone the choice of a new

but there is little suggestion about a possible resolution or happy

husband. The giant skein of wool and her gaze, lost in the horizon,

ending – “eucatastrophe”, to use Tolkien’s word. They instead

suggest that she may be knitting for a very long time but that

capture a moment of tension that transmits from the environment

she has stopped crying, is attempting to carry on living positively,

to the character. Something is either about to happen or has just

and will create something from the rubble. The anachronism of

happened, and the scene makes one smile yet feel a sense of

her act – knitting instead of weaving at the loom – is a good

doom. Each of the four character representations suggest their

metaphor for the mistakes that re-write and re-interpret history.

condition and attitude, and it is interesting to observe a subtle visual or conceptual translation of certain elements in the stories.

There is little escapism and few moral lessons to learn from Saadeh’s true-life tales. Her conclusion is rather that history

Cinderella is certainly the victim of deprivation; in a moment,

repeats itself: the location, time and context might change, but

her carriage has disappeared, she has lost her glass slipper

the absurd patterns of oppression, conflict, dispossession and

(“happiness is bright but brittle, like the substance most

injustice present themselves over and over again. Saadeh’s

easily smashed by a housemaid or a cat”6), and her dreams

heroines display fear, suspicion, anger, cynicism and resignation

of happiness have been crushed, but nevertheless she has a

in their gaze, yet they have the wisdom to face the absurd with

defiant look in her eyes and she appears to be saying “I’ll be

the absurd, and the power to adapt to their reality with humour.

back”. Like Rapunzel, her subservient, almost slave-like condition

Such a feat is indeed a magical act.

is not a result of her wrongdoing, but is the imposition of another’s will. Cinderella’s repeated abuses are unjustified acts

London 2012

of evil inflicted by her step-family, while Rapunzel’s imprisonment

Francesca Ricci is an artist and writer

in the tower comes from her parents’ agreement to surrender their unborn child to the witch, in exchange for harvesting the delicious rampion from her garden. Both women seem to have no influence on their destiny; no meaningful action they take can bring about change. Only the caprice of fate and the unfolding of supernatural circumstances can change their existence.

From Raeda Saadeh in Arabicity: Such a Near East, exhibition catalogue (London: Beyond Art Production, 2010), p36

1

2

In The Types of the Folktale, authors Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson attempted to classify folk tales according to their genre, motifs and types. In their index, Cinderella is grouped under the “Prosecuted Heroine”, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel are both listed under “Supernatural Opponents”; and Rapunzel is also categorised as “Maiden in the Tower”.

In Little Red Cap, the Brothers Grimm version of Little Red

4

Riding Hood, the girl describes her grandmother’s house to the

5

wolf as being in the forest, among three large oak trees and

6

22

Rapunzel, from the Fairy Tales series, 2010

As above

3

JRR Tolkien, “On Fairy Stories”, in Tree and Leaf (London: Unwin Books, 1971), p43 GK Chesterton, “Fairy Tales”, in All Things Considered (Charleston: BiblioBazaar, 2007) GK Chesterton, “The Ethics of Elfland”, in Orthodoxy (London: The Bodley Head, 2010), p85

23

Chesterton’s view, though imbued with Christian morality, does

nut trees. In Saadeh’s version, smiling innocently, she ventures

present some interesting observations: “If you really read the fairy

unaware into a forest of skyscrapers, their menacing shadows

tales, you will observe that one idea runs from one end of them

about to swallow her, to take bread to “the other side” – the

to the other – the idea that peace and happiness can only exist

Palestinians who live under occupation. It is the moment when

on some condition. This idea, which is the core of ethics, is the

destiny prepares to strike.

core of the nursery tales. The whole happiness of fairyland hangs Penelope, coming from ancient Greek myths rather than universal

upon a thread, upon one thread. Cinderella may have a dress

folk tales, is perhaps the most striking of the four heroines. She

woven on supernatural looms and blazing with unearthly brilliance; but she must be back when the clock strikes twelve.”

5

is a symbol of virtue and loyalty – in line with the tales’ morality – but she is also a clever woman that buys time by doing and

Saadeh’s photographs are indeed addressing a grown-up public,

undoing her knitting in order to postpone the choice of a new

but there is little suggestion about a possible resolution or happy

husband. The giant skein of wool and her gaze, lost in the horizon,

ending – “eucatastrophe”, to use Tolkien’s word. They instead

suggest that she may be knitting for a very long time but that

capture a moment of tension that transmits from the environment

she has stopped crying, is attempting to carry on living positively,

to the character. Something is either about to happen or has just

and will create something from the rubble. The anachronism of

happened, and the scene makes one smile yet feel a sense of

her act – knitting instead of weaving at the loom – is a good

doom. Each of the four character representations suggest their

metaphor for the mistakes that re-write and re-interpret history.

condition and attitude, and it is interesting to observe a subtle visual or conceptual translation of certain elements in the stories.

There is little escapism and few moral lessons to learn from Saadeh’s true-life tales. Her conclusion is rather that history

Cinderella is certainly the victim of deprivation; in a moment,

repeats itself: the location, time and context might change, but

her carriage has disappeared, she has lost her glass slipper

the absurd patterns of oppression, conflict, dispossession and

(“happiness is bright but brittle, like the substance most

injustice present themselves over and over again. Saadeh’s

easily smashed by a housemaid or a cat”6), and her dreams

heroines display fear, suspicion, anger, cynicism and resignation

of happiness have been crushed, but nevertheless she has a

in their gaze, yet they have the wisdom to face the absurd with

defiant look in her eyes and she appears to be saying “I’ll be

the absurd, and the power to adapt to their reality with humour.

back”. Like Rapunzel, her subservient, almost slave-like condition

Such a feat is indeed a magical act.

is not a result of her wrongdoing, but is the imposition of another’s will. Cinderella’s repeated abuses are unjustified acts

London 2012

of evil inflicted by her step-family, while Rapunzel’s imprisonment

Francesca Ricci is an artist and writer

in the tower comes from her parents’ agreement to surrender their unborn child to the witch, in exchange for harvesting the delicious rampion from her garden. Both women seem to have no influence on their destiny; no meaningful action they take can bring about change. Only the caprice of fate and the unfolding of supernatural circumstances can change their existence.

From Raeda Saadeh in Arabicity: Such a Near East, exhibition catalogue (London: Beyond Art Production, 2010), p36

1

2

In The Types of the Folktale, authors Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson attempted to classify folk tales according to their genre, motifs and types. In their index, Cinderella is grouped under the “Prosecuted Heroine”, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel are both listed under “Supernatural Opponents”; and Rapunzel is also categorised as “Maiden in the Tower”.

In Little Red Cap, the Brothers Grimm version of Little Red

4

Riding Hood, the girl describes her grandmother’s house to the

5

wolf as being in the forest, among three large oak trees and

6

22

Rapunzel, from the Fairy Tales series, 2010

As above

3

JRR Tolkien, “On Fairy Stories”, in Tree and Leaf (London: Unwin Books, 1971), p43 GK Chesterton, “Fairy Tales”, in All Things Considered (Charleston: BiblioBazaar, 2007) GK Chesterton, “The Ethics of Elfland”, in Orthodoxy (London: The Bodley Head, 2010), p85

23

28

Penelope, from the Fairy Tales series, 2010

28

Penelope, from the Fairy Tales series, 2010

“Saadeh’s heroines have the wisdom to face the absurd with the absurd, and the power to adapt to their reality with humour”

34

Diana, from the Great Masters series, 2007

35

“Saadeh’s heroines have the wisdom to face the absurd with the absurd, and the power to adapt to their reality with humour”

34

Diana, from the Great Masters series, 2007

35

vacuum This video installation for two large angled screens was made in 2007. Shot in the desert between Jericho and the Dead Sea in Palestine, Saadeh wanted to create an authentic experience, and connected the vacuum cleaner to a generator with some 400 metres of cable, so that the soundtrack and her activity are genuine.

The absurdity of vacuuming the desert mountains is a reference to the never-ending work that needs to be done in order to survive daily life in Palestine. She highlights the absurdity of human effort with that of Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat to eternity the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again.

This endless repetition is echoed in The Myth of Sisyphus, a philosophical essay by the French writer Albert Camus (1942).

In the essay, Camus emphasises his philosophy of the absurd: man’s futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an incomprehensible world. The essay concludes, “The struggle itself... is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

48

Right and overleaf: Vacuum, two-channel video installation, 17 mins, 2007

49

vacuum This video installation for two large angled screens was made in 2007. Shot in the desert between Jericho and the Dead Sea in Palestine, Saadeh wanted to create an authentic experience, and connected the vacuum cleaner to a generator with some 400 metres of cable, so that the soundtrack and her activity are genuine.

The absurdity of vacuuming the desert mountains is a reference to the never-ending work that needs to be done in order to survive daily life in Palestine. She highlights the absurdity of human effort with that of Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat to eternity the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again.

This endless repetition is echoed in The Myth of Sisyphus, a philosophical essay by the French writer Albert Camus (1942).

In the essay, Camus emphasises his philosophy of the absurd: man’s futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an incomprehensible world. The essay concludes, “The struggle itself... is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

48

Right and overleaf: Vacuum, two-channel video installation, 17 mins, 2007

49

56

Left and above left: Washing Lines, performance, the Berlin Wall, 2008. Above right: Zaatar – You Stepped on My Dress, performance, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, 2009

57

56

Left and above left: Washing Lines, performance, the Berlin Wall, 2008. Above right: Zaatar – You Stepped on My Dress, performance, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, 2009

57

62

The Tree of Wishes, performance, Adelaide, Australia, 2010; Birzeit University Museum, Palestine and Kunstbanken Hedmark, Hamar, Norway, both 2011 63

62

The Tree of Wishes, performance, Adelaide, Australia, 2010; Birzeit University Museum, Palestine and Kunstbanken Hedmark, Hamar, Norway, both 2011 63

video and performance artist Raeda Saadeh conveys the

raeda saadeh

In this first monograph of her work, photographer, installation, many paradoxes, ironies and frustrations of daily life in her homeland, Palestine, with captivating humour and charm.

Drawing from influences as diverse as the European great master painters and ancient fairy tales, she presents an upbeat strength and positivity that encourage the viewer to do a double-take and reconsider entrenched opinions.

rose issa projects beyond art production

£ 10.00

raeda saadeh Reframing Palestine

Edited by Rose Issa