This article appeared in Being Samia Halaby Issue #68 dedicated to spotlighting the journey of Samia Halaby, a Palestinian-American artist whose resilience shines through despite challenges like the cancellation of a significant exhibition at Indiana University. Halaby’s remarkable year, marked by global exhibitions and well-deserved acclaim, underscores her ability to transcend borders with art that prompts reflection on themes of identity, belonging, and social justice, serving as a bridge across cultural divides.
As an artist, Samia Halaby has sought to infuse her creations with the vitality and essence of life itself. With a profound connection to nature, she embarked on a journey to explore the very properties that animate the world around us. Through her art, Halaby delved into the intricate interplay of light, colour, and form, drawing inspiration from the organic rhythms of the natural world.
Central to Halaby’s vision has always been her deep-rooted and troubled Palestinian identity, which found expression through themes echoing the land, soil, and olive trees of her country. In her quest to evoke the spirit of her homeland, she looked to the earth itself, finding inspiration in its rugged beauty and timeless resilience. By incorporating these elements into her work, Halaby not only captured the essence of her heritage but also celebrated its enduring vitality, even as the world witnessed Palestine’s ongoing struggle to exist.
Yet Halaby’s art is not purely nostalgic, or confined to serene landscapes and idyllic scenes. Unapologetically confronting the harsh realities of history, she boldly addresses the atrocities inflicted upon her people. One such haunting chapter is the Kafr Qasim massacre of 1956, where Israeli forces brutally massacred innocent Palestinian civilians. Her visceral depictions of this tragedy serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles faced by the Palestinian people.
In her pursuit of truth and justice, Halaby employs a diverse array of mediums, from traditional painting techniques to unconventional materials like paper-mâché and knit clothing. Through each stroke of her brush or weave of her fabric, she breathes life into her art, infusing it with raw emotion and unwavering conviction.
In essence, Samia Halaby’s art transcends mere representation; it pulsates with the vitality of nature and the indomitable spirit of Palestine. Through her uncompromising vision and unyielding dedication, she invites us to bear witness to the beauty, resilience, and struggles of her people, while forging a powerful testament to the human experience over a period of decades. She simultaneously provokes, challenges and inspires us.
Dance on Canal
I have always admired the way shopkeepers and fruit sellers arrange their products to attract our attention. I document this love in photography and occasionally make photomontage out of them. On one occasion returning home, I emerged from the dark tunnels of the subway to a beautiful afternoon of busy shopping on Canal Street. I rushed home, got my camera and returned to photograph with great excitement the transient atmosphere. I was not a photographer as focus and careful framing went out the window while capturing the spirit by allowing its rhythm to capture my movements, and my gaze dominated. I remember a young black worker who shoeed me away angrily for taking a picture of him without his permission. I returned days later to give him a copy and found a sweet, shy young man happy to receive the picture of him.
I was not a photographer as focus and careful framing went out the window while capturing the spirit by allowing its rhythm to capture my movements, and my gaze dominated.
The photomontage that I did of Canal Street was of course influenced by my painting. In their turn they influenced new works. The painting on paper, Chinatown on Canal, emerged as a direct result of this exploration: a reaction to the beauty of Canal Street.
Workers, colourful products, and sidewalks full of the rhythm of crowds walking all together are like flowers that bloom every afternoon only to recede by night into a dark deserted Canal Street composed of dilapidated storefronts. By morning the dullness is full of anxious workers rushing to their jobs. But afternoons, especially in spring, Canal Street blooms like a field of wildflowers.
