You cannot trust the open sky*
This body of work includes several works; including documentary photography, analogue lumen prints, digitised lumen prints, film photography and cyanotype, and created as a response to feeling absolutely helpless and powerless to change the inhumane narrative of the International Criminal Court’s ‘plausible genocide’ in Gaza. I hope to create a resonance with these artworks to create a sense of shared understanding, emotion, or motivation and to influence public opinion to shape cultural narratives about colonisation and power.
I have listed the amount I will donate from any print sales of this work to UNHCR and it will be done in your name.
*this phrase by Suheir Hammad, an American Palestinian, Muslim poet.
In 2023 the Australian people voted ‘No’ to The Voice Referendum. The result was incomprehensible to me but also to the Aboriginal people who have been living on this land for 65,000 years. I am a settler living on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country and for me growing up in the 70’s and 80’s our education of indigenous peoples was nil. Yes, we did Aboriginal history but it was from a colonial lens. The same can be said for the history of the Middle East, especially Palestine. The only history I remember was pro Israeli propaganda.
The Guardian Australia published a heartwrenching interactive map of The Killing Times, based on data researched by the University of Newcastle. It is a chilling representation of our own historical genocide of our indigenous peoples. The work below represents my solidarity towards the indigenous peoples of Palestine, a personal protest to what the ICJ called ‘plausible genocide’.
On a side note I am very honoured to have been shortlisted for the Belfast Photo Festival for the photographic parts of this body of work, a poignant moment as the Irish have much solidarity with the Palestinian peoples and others who have been occupied.
A Meditation Of Death
“A Meditation of Death” invites viewers to contemplate the profound impact of conflict through a poignant marriage of technique and symbolism. Comprising 12 8x10” lumen prints, this body of work employs a meditative process. I have made a stencil by piercing approximately 2000 tiny holes into black card. That card is then placed over light-sensitive photo paper and exposed in sunlight for up to 15 minutes or so. The result in each unique lumen print is a series of tiny minute shadows, resembling a starry constellation when printed. They transcend their aesthetic nature to convey a sombre narrative. Each piercing acts as like a personal active protest, when most of the global reaction to what is happening in Gaza, is completely inert.
The resulting lumen prints serve as a visual metaphor for the countless lives lost in Gaza, embracing the innocence of children, the vulnerability of babies, the resilience of women, and the sacrifice of men. Each of tiny dots on the photo paper bears witness to the human toll exacted by the on-going genocide, urging us to confront the harsh realities of our shared humanity.
Each lumen print is then photographed digitally and manipulated so that shadow becomes light, and light becomes dark. The dark now becomes night with a constellation of 24,000 little deaths (as of the 3rd January 2024 when this was made).
The conceptual foundation of “A Meditation of Death” draws inspiration from the Maranasati meditation, a contemplative practice centred on the inevitability of death. This meditation aligns with the artwork’s overarching theme, encouraging introspection on the consequences of humanity’s dark history of violence and the impermanence of life.
As an artist, my intent is to challenge the notion that war resolves anything; instead, it perpetuates cycles of suffering, breeding hate through acts of terror and barbarism. Through the delicate, labor-intensive process of creating the stencil and then each lumen print, “A Meditation of Death” seeks to evoke empathy, fostering a collective awareness that transcends borders and ideologies. It beckons viewers to reflect on the shared fragility of life and the urgent need for compassion in the face of profound loss.
The above individual lumen prints as well as the Watermelon Displacement series and the Gaza Stripped images were shortlisted by the Belfast Photo Festival 2024. My artist statement read:
“This work delves into the inhumane realities of life, death, displacement, and destruction experienced by the Palestinian people. Through the lens of Maranasati meditation, a contemplative practice centred on the inevitability of death, several distinct series of work come together to provoke introspection and empathy.
A Meditation of Death: Dated January 3, 2024, is a collection of images serves as a solemn tribute to the 24,000 lives lost in Gaza at that time. Each lumen print is photographed and digitised. Each little star represents a soul who has perished, inviting viewers to reflect on the profound impact of occupation, violence and death. Through the original lumen prints and the subsequent digitised versions aim to bear witness to the irreversible damage wrought by conflict, compelling viewers to reckon with the human cost of occupation.
The use of cameraless lumagraphs, crafted by exposing photographic paper to sunlight under black card that has been meticulously pierced with tiny holes, adds a layer of symbolic resonance to the artwork. This intricate process mirrors the delicate balance between light and darkness, life and death—and the repetitive and mediative act of piercing each card with hundreds of holes allows me to think about the Palestinian peoples' unfathomable struggles against evil. The resulting images though innocuous upon first viewing are a simple and powerful protest by one person; me. A Meditation of Death: One large print (160cmx60cm) of fine art paper and placed alongside will be the original lumen prints, which over the time of the exhibition on display in daylight will fade over time. This aims to represent collective memory of atrocities which can diminish over time but also represent the genocide of a whole nation of people.
Showcasing this work in Belfast holds profound significance. As a city marked by its own history of occupation and conflict, Belfast serves as a poignant backdrop for confronting the injustices faced by the Palestinian people. Moreover, for me, as a settler residing on unceded land of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples in Australia, it underscores the interconnectedness of global struggles for justice and sovereignty."
NB: the above image of 12 lumen prints was made several months after exposure and have absorbed further light even though kept in a ‘light tight’ bag. (interesting)
This series above, Watermelon Displacement, represents the diminishing size of land left for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Forced to evacuate from the north into ever decreasing “safe” pieces of land. In reality the remaining Palestinian people who are still alive, are crowded into smaller and smaller areas, so the smaller the wedge the more the people. I created the shape of the watermelon by piercing holes in black card. I lay the card over photographic paper in the sunshine for 15 minutes each time. I created the shape of the ever decreasing wedge by underexposing different sized wedge shapes.
The watermelon is a symbol of Palestinian unity, hence the shape used in this work. The Israeli government banned the Palestinian flag and its colours red, green and black in the 1967 war. During the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Israeli government lifted the ban. It is a powerful symbol for the Palestinian people. People are not allowed to have drawings with watermelons on it, OR to even carry a slice of watermelon.
Permanent Ceasefire Now!
The Flour Massacre
Using flour from my pantry I have created two works representing the horrific “Flour Massacre” in Gaza on 29th February 2024. Aid trucks were allowed into an area of Gaza. Over 100 people were shot by the IDF and many more injured. BBC Verify investigation here.
When scrolling through instagram many images from the massacres in Gaza are hidden under a graphic violence warning which is ironic as most of what we see is on social media. For this flour massacre I have combined the projected warning over my representation of the Flour Massacre which is printed on fabric like a ad-hoc curtain used in the tents in the ‘safe zones’.
Empty Eid/Aid
Children and adults are starving in Gaza. This deliberate and inhumane act by the occupying forces and is in contravention to the UN. Empty bowls have been photographed using the keffiyeh or kufiyyeh for a table cloth. I feel helpless watching the continued resistance of the occupiers to uphold humanitarian law and ensure people are fed. This was made for Eid Mubarak, when feasting after Ramadan should be happening. By smashing the bowls after I photographed them and placing them under the image signifies the futility of try to be fed and to find food in Palestine.
On the 30th January 2024 The Guardian published an article of the level of destruction within the Gaza Strip. The image above on the left is a screensnap of that article, and all the areas of red have been destroyed. On the right I created an artwork using that screensnap, and I made a lumagraph by exposing photographic paper in sunlight under black card that was punctured with little holes to make a stencil of all the areas that have been destroyed.
Gaza Stripped
Forbidden Colours
In 1988 conceptual artist Felix Gonzales-Torres created an artwork called Forbidden Colours. It was four separate panels 16 x 20“ in size. Each panel was painted one colour: green, red, black and white, so 4 in total. Green, red, black and white placed next to each other in any form were forbidden by the Israeli army in the occupied Palestinian territories and have lead to being arrested, beaten up or shot. It wasn’t until the 1993 Oslo Accords that the ban was lifted though in 2014 Israel has once again stopped the use of the Palestinian flag in protests and in 2023 Israel’s Minister of National Security has once again banned the use of the flag in public spaces.
Gonzales-Torres’ artist statement about the artwork reads:
“It is a fact people are discriminated against for being HIV positive. It is a fact the majority of the Nazi industrialists retained their wealth after war. It is a fact the night belongs to Michelob and Coke is real. It is a fact the color of your skin matters. It is a fact Crazy Eddie’s prices are insane. It is a fact that four colors red, black, green and white placed next to each other in any form are strictly forbidden by the Israeli army in the occupied Palestinian territories. This color combination can cause an arrest, a beating, a curfew, a shooting, or a news photograph. Yet it is a fact that these forbidden colors, presented as a solitary act of consciousness here in SoHo, will not precipitate a similar reaction.
From the first moment of encounter, the four colour canvases in this room will “speak” to everyone. Some will define them as an exercise in color theory, or some sort of abstraction. Some as four boring rectangular canvases hanging on the wall. Now that you’ve read this text, I hope for a different message.
For all the PWAs.”
The artwork itself can be seen here
I have made 4 images seen here below and they are my homage to the Gonzales-Torres work, created by photographing a watermelon for the red, green and white colours and the night sky for the black. I aim to print them as 16x20” panels like Gonzales-Torres mounted side by side. As watermelons do not seem to have black seeds anymore, I decided to photograph the night sky. With a long 30 second exposure you can see the stars and satellites, moving overhead. When watching my sky through my lens there are just stars and satellites and it is quiet. Whenever I have watched footage from Gaza all you can hear the drone of the drones in the sky. In Gaza, ‘you cannot trust the open sky’.
1 Litre of Water
According to UNICEF people living in Gaza have only access to 1 litre of water per day and the often that water is unsafe to drink. The World Health Organisation states that that 15 litres of water is needed per person for drinking, cooking and washing, per day. Israel has damaged 1/2 all water supply and sanitation facilities and most of the waste water and sewerage facilities in Gaza have been damaged. Link to BBC verified post here. This image is of a 1 litre plastic milk bottle with tap water in it, was made on the day I saw the news about the dire water situation.
You Cannot Trust an Open Sky
Using a combination of 36,000 drawn graphite pencil dots and embroidery thread in black and red I have depicted the danger and violence experienced by the people of Palestine/Gaza since October 7th 2023.. When creating this whole body of work I felt the need for a meditative approach to counteract the feeling of hopelessness I felt for the people suffering in Gaza and also those taken as hostages. This work “You Cannot Trust an Open Sky”, draws on my experience when making “Forbidden Colours” when I photographed the night sky in my back yard. It was peaceful, quiet and mesmerising watching my night sky through a 300 mm lens. This is not so in Gaza and now regionally in the Middle East.
Each little dot represents a dear soul of someone who has died. When I started making this work on 31st May 2024 the death toll was 36,000. Each little dot also represents a star in the night sky over Palestine, with the embroidery representing the incursions into that sky by drones, guns and missiles.
“You Cannot Trust an Open Sky” Graphite pencil and embroidery on Arches watercolour paper 65cm x 180cm.
Below are also images from when I documented The Australian National University students’ encampment. The encampment has four principal demands on ANU:
Cut ties with all weapons manufacturing companies;
Disclose and divest from all companies complicit in the genocide in Gaza;
Cut academic ties with Israel, including its exchange partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem;
Condemn the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the apartheid Israeli state.
Palestinian Mussa Hijazi
Judith Fieldes who started the first encampment at Uni of Sydney
The Palestinian Action group in Canberra has been running rallies and protests for months. They hold rallies and marches in Garema Place on a Saturday from 1pm and they have speeches and updates. There has been art classes for kids and local musicians playing music too. It usually ends up with a march around the city. When I have attended to document the action, Emma Davidson ACT MLA has spoken.
On the 15th April there was an international day of action and about 50 Canberrans blockaded the EOS factory in Hume. There were four arrests; Zev, Cate, Lana and Lucy, seen here below. On Monday the 6th May Cate and Lana faced court. I was there to make a portrait of the two of them before they went in. (see below).
Zev goes to court in a couple of weeks and I have yet to hear about Lucy. I have managed to make a portrait each of Zev, Cate and Lana as a tribute to their actions.
Zev shouts 'Free Palestine' when being arrested for chaining themself to the EOS gate
Cate is lead away after being cut free from being crannied to the gate
Lana is arrested after being chained to the gate
Zev
Lana
Cate
