Zawba3a

2023
120 x 182 cm

Zawba3a (whirlwind) is a painted map gripped by tactile arms, showcasing a chaotic scene of emerging cultures and identities across the Middle East. Its haphazard nature highlights culture's rich and complex transformative nature, the threat of erasing history, and the lack of preservation destroying tradition. With references to folklore and the social-political status, by referring to the incense and coffee trade or ancient and traditional dress, Zawba3a is an act of resilience. It defies the image of Yemeni culture set in the media through current political affairs or stereotypes by reanimating objects that shape the country and its crafts, opening the dialogue between decolonisation, object-oriented ontology, and grief. It allows ritualistic objects like incense burners, Jambiyas (daggers), and coins that are melted into metalwork jewellery to become potent constellations in the map, reflecting societal changes threatening the survival of traditional objects.