Sunrise in Wadi el-Hummus •
Twelve to Sixteen Bodies
On July 21, 2019, Israeli Occupation forces came at dawn and forcefully evicted residents of the Palestinian area of East Jerusalem called Wadi el-Hummus, in some cases detonating homes the same morning so residents could not return. A video of one of these evictions shows a group of people pressing their bodies against the front door of a house so that the Occupational Forces cannot enter. Screenshots of this video are placed on a grid, in no particular order and printed in color in Sunrise in Wadi el-Hummus and as digitally manipulated images in black and white in Twelve to Sixteen Bodies.
In the short video, these twelve to sixteen people are not successful in holding off the soldiers. In the bottom left panel of the colored print, there is a bright light which corresponds to the moment where tear gas canisters are thrown into the house as the door is partially forced open.
The large prints are placed next to each other as a diptych. On the top left of the black and white print are two drawings of the bodies from one of the stills in charcoal and conté on semi-transparent paper, layered on top of one another. The bodies, when layered and distorted, become forms: huddles, shadows, traces, or even rock formations. Despite its temporariness and fragility, this form contains power, giving physical shape to collective acts of resistance.
Photography by Emma Beatrez
2021
Twelve to Sixteen Bodies
Digital print, charcoal, conté on paper
18 in X 28 in // 45.75 cm x 71 cm
