exhibition:

Border Ecologies and the Gaza Strip

A project by the Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST) and the Qudaih family

14 Jan 2022
21 Mar 2022

For nearly a century, fluctuations in the shape and form of the border of the Gaza strip have affected both human and natural ecologies, leading to the formation of spaces of exception—environments that, at times, seem paradoxically more resilient and sustainable than those with steadier histories.

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Border Ecologies - Map Gaza - Drawing by Malkit Shoshan Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST), Malkit Shoshan

About Border Ecologies and the Gaza Strip

This project traces the transformation of a small farm in Khuza’a; a Palestinian agricultural village in the Gaza Strip situated along one of the territory’s most militarized borders with Israel. In the past few decades, the four-dunam (or 4,000-square-meter) farm, owned and managed by Abd el Haleem and Khaldya Qudaih, has been attacked, damaged, and destroyed time and again by Israeli air raids, shelling, and patrols.

For the exhibition which was first shown at Venice Architecture Biennale, FAST has collected more than a dozen oral histories of daily life on the farm through ongoing conversations with Amir Qudaih and his family. Linking mundane material, such as watermelon, sardines, sand, and sediment, to bureaucratic protocols, Israeli-imposed restrictions, and continued acts of violence, these stories attest to the Khuza’a community’s continual engagement in collective acts of survival, resistance, mutual aid, and solidarity.

What you can see

The installation is centered on a dining table and a custom-made tablecloth, designed by Malkit Shoshan with Sandra Kassenaar and in collaboration with the Qudaih family, that features interwoven stories of daily life on the farm. Two projections juxtapose short videos of this farm life with footage of the perpetual violence the villagers face, all of which was captured on mobile phones by Khuza’a’s farmers. The exhibition also includes photographs, short stories and testimonies, and a website that makes the exhibition material accessible online for those who cannot visit in person, in particular the Qudaih family. 

About Malkit Shoshan

Malkit Shoshan is a designer, architect and lecturer and the founding director of the architectural think-tank FAST: Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory. She is the author and the mapmaker of the award-winning book Atlas of Conflict: Israel-Palestine. The book details the emergence of Israel and disappearance of Palestine over the past century. Shoshan did the exhibition concept, text, and design of the Border Ecologies exhibition and won The Silver Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale for it.

About the Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST)

FAST uses research, advocacy, and design to investigate the relationships between architecture, urban planning, and human rights. Their cross-disciplinary and multi-scalar work explores the mechanisms behind, and the impact of systemic and spatial violence on people’s living environments and livelihood. FAST develops collaborative initiatives and designs to promote spatial and social justice.

Information

Border Ecologies and the Gaza Strip Exhibition
24th of December 2021 until 21st of March 2022
Mediamatic ETEN
Visit during opening hours of the restaurant. (Fri, Sat, Sun from 12:00 till 17:00)
Free entrance

In case you have any questions, you can send an email to program@mediamatic.nl.

 

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Border Ecologies - Exhibition at Venice Architecture Biennale - Courtesy by FAST - Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST) Image source Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST), Malkit Shoshan

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Border Ecologies - Exhibition at Venice Architecture Biennale - Courtesy by FAST - Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST) Image source Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST), Malkit Shoshan

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Border Ecologies - Map Gaza - Drawing by Malkit Shoshan Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST), Malkit Shoshan

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Border Ecologies - Exhibition at Venice Architecture Biennale - Auction plate - Courtesy by FAST - Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST) Image source Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST), Malkit Shoshan

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Border Ecologies - The Qudaih family home after the 2014 war - Wars in Gaza are perpetual: since 1948, conflicts, attacks, and military operations have come and gone with the seasons. By now, most all of the two million people who inhabit the Gaza Strip, half of whom are children, have never experienced peace. Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST)

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Border Ecologies - Greenhouse destruction - The Qudaih family’s destroyed date palms, olive trees, and greenhouse following Operation Summer Rains. Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST)

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Border Ecologies - Lunch after work - A Qudaih family picnic. Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST)

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Border Ecologies - Watermelon crops near the house - While the Qudaih family’s men are out cultivating the farm’s land, the women maintain the land around the house. They grow zucchini, potatoes, beans, melons and watermelons, along with various edible and medicinal herbs. The women’s garden provides fresh daily produce for the family’s meals, and includes a closed area with a clay  Tabun   where they bake fresh bread. Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST)