Naba Yasir's aesthetically arresting work, “A visual representation of the ongoing genocide in Palestine” in tatreez embroidery, generatively expands traditional boundaries of art and activism. Through the intricate use of traditional tatreez, a symbol of Palestinian unity and resilience, Yasir's installation transforms ‘observers’ into living wit(h)ness, assisting us to bear witness to the stark reality of senseless violence and loss. By weaving together data sourced from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Palestinian fatalities into an affecting and deeply moving tapestry as living memorial, she transforms statistics into a language of cultural symbols that honour and lovingly witness the plight of the Palestinian people.
As Yasir explains: “Tatreez symbolises unity among Palestinians, woven together by their love for their homeland and resilience since 1948. This piece was presented as an installation. The large scale of the design forced viewers to confront the ugly, heartbreaking truth while observing a beautiful pattern.”
Yasir's work expands traditional notions of bearing witness beyond legal frameworks, providing a deeper emotional and cultural engagement with the other, that holds vigil with each cross stitch.
“In a world that turns a blind eye to ethnic cleansing, this data visualisation aims to captivate observers to the beauty of the Palestinians in order to unveil the atrocities that are committed against them. Each intricate pattern serves as a stark reminder that it is crafted from the blood and tears of Palestinians.”
Yasir offers a third space, in which we can both stay with the pain of Palestine, through honouring an ancient cultural tradition and artform. Her work speaks powerfully to Ettinger's contemplation of "wit(h)ness" - that the capacity for wit(h)nessing is rooted in feminine-maternal-matrixial relations, is inherent in everyone and can be practised respectfully and with love. Yasir, like many of the artists in this exhibition takes wit(h)nessing seriously, she shows how it is both a verb, that makes nouns, and nouns, that create verbs - it is in this being present to, and shaping the world, she is both witnessing, archiving traumatic moments in history, but also allowing others who encounter the tapestry to feel deeper into what has happened, and is happening in Palestine.
