PAST TENSE | JACK PERSEKIAN

28julAll Day28sepPAST TENSE | JACK PERSEKIAN

Event Details

Jerusalem’s landscape, as we know it today, is merely a surface layer, a slice in a long tumultuous history that has witnessed a succession of takeovers by people and civilizations from the preceding ones. Yet, Jack Persekian presents in this project scenes from the city by superimposing an additional layer – a photograph taken today of the same location, shot from the same spot and angle, over that taken by a photographer some one hundred years ago. Moving between two distinct times, allows us to study and compare the changes that occurred over time. In this project, he examines the landscape and forces at play then, now and, possibly, in the future.

Persekian digs through accumulated layers of history carried in these photographs, unearthing the details of the city, and the lives of its people and places. In a reverse process, he reconstructs its history taking the past as a starting point as he navigates his way to the present. Persekian does not get rid of the present layer, as usually is the case in archaeological excavations, but rather preserves it as an essential layer and a point of return in the interpretations and analysis process.

Persekian deliberately selects images with details that expose the contradictions of the place. Each work in itself is a story that narrates the transformation of the Holy City over time. For example, the vast changes that have occurred around the gates of the old city – not only from an architectural perspective, but also from a political and social perspectives – are apparent. We can observe the erasure of entire neighborhoods as a result of plans enforced by the colonial powers and executed with bulldozers in sheer denial of the city’s history and reality (the Moroccan neighborhood, as an example).

The current and former occupiers of the city can be seen in the same composition, from different times but almost identical in appearance, and apparently applying similar policies of control and subjugation. It is also clear in certain locations that the architectural changes are a direct result of the colonial perception of the place as a biblical city reincarnated, detached in their minds from its reality.

Some scenes from the old city have not changed much, but looking carefully, one might find new elements here or there, such as an air conditioner installed on an old wall, a façade pierced by bullet, or tourists wandering around in the city. Persekian reminds us that we live in the same place that appears in the old photos even if the features have changed a bit, now. In some works, the lines and details overlap perfectly, and the two images become one. Sometimes, in certain collages it becomes difficult to distinguish between the old and the new images, which make us wonder if he’s alluding to the concept that history repeats itself! He obscures some details of the past with the present or vice versa. Nonetheless, it’s not so important to reveal all the details, as much as conveying a message or underlining a point. Persekian’s works present Jerusalem as a dynamic city adaptable to its ever-changing reality, yet, a city under occupation and full of contradictions. It is not the ideal, poetic, enchanting place that appears in the pictures of Orientalist photographers which tourists buy in the souks, and it is definitely not the place where time stops. Every layer of the past has been subjected to some form of destruction in favor of the conquerors and dominant powers. The layers in between the past and present clearly prevail in his works as well as the persistent attempts of the colonial powers to own the city and its history and to remove its people.

“Past Tense” adds value and dimension to the act of taking photographs in the Holy City, and at the same time strips old images of the oriental gaze that permeates not only in the minds of tourists, but sometimes in our minds as Palestinians. By juxtaposing photographs from the past and present, Persekian unloads those romantic, sentimental and nostalgic sentiments carried by the old photographs, and brings us back to our reality, yet better informed and bewitched.

Courtesy of Zawyeh Gallery

more

Time

July 28 (Wednesday) - September 28 (Tuesday)

Location

Zawyeh Gallery

7A President Circle, Al-Balo’ Ramallah, Palestine

Organizer

Zawyeh Gallery

yhussein@zawyeh.net

Learn More

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

selections-arts-logo

SELECTIONS is a platform for the arts, focusing on the Arab World.

Selections editorial presents a quarterly print magazine and weekly online publication with high quality content on all subjects related to Art and Culture. Full of world-leading artworks, exquisite brand imagery, original creative illustrations and insightful written articles.
Selections Viewing Rooms presents carefully curated online art shows aiming not only to shed light on contemporary art executed by living artists, but also for viewers to buy contemporary fine art, prints & multiples, photography, street art and collectibles.
Discover the previous and current shows here.
Cultural Narratives foundation is an extensive collection that is travelling the world by leading established and emerging talents aiming to reflect the culture of the region in their works.

RANDOM READS

Domus Berytus by Gilbert Halaby at Beit Beirut Museum

Domus Berytus by Gilbert Halaby Gilbert Halaby’s solo exhibition at the Beit Beirut Museum in Lebanon is a celebration of his artistic journey and trajectory. Through a series of figurative paintings, Halaby creates a dialogue between poetry and paintings, past…

1-54 Marrakech 2023

1-54 Marrakech 2023  1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, the leading international art fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora, announced the return of 1-54 Marrakech at La Mamounia hotel, recently voted the Best Hotel in the…

Filiation: Leila Jabre Jureidini at Galerie Janine Rubeiz

Filiation: Leila Jabre Jureidini at Galerie Janine Rubeiz Leila Jabre Jureidini’s latest solo exhibition, “Filiation,” explores the artist’s evolving and unique vision. This is Jureidini’s third solo exhibition with Galerie Janine Rubeiz, where she previously showcased “Fragments” in 2012 and…

Tabari Artspace Land Survey: Béchir Boussandel’s Solo exhibition

Béchir Boussandel’s Solo exhibition Franco-Tunisian artist Béchir Boussandel lives and works in Lille, France. Boussandel graduated as a painter from the Dunkirk School of Fine Arts. His practice raises questions of identity, the nature of space of time and the…

AKKA Project

GALLERY STATEMENT AKKA (A Kostic Khachatourian Art) Project, established in Dubai in 2016 and Venice 2019,  is a commercial gallery and project space that represents and supports artists from the African continent and its diaspora, increasing opportunities for its artists to introduce…

The Third Line

GALLERY STATEMENT Founded in 2005, The Third Line is a Dubai-based gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally, and internationally. A pioneering platform for established talent and emerging voices from the region and its diaspora, The Third Line…

march 2023

12jan(jan 12)10:0015apr(apr 15)06:00Samia Halaby and Farid Haddad

12jan(jan 12)10:3025mar(mar 25)17:00THE FUTURE OF TRADITIONS

24jan(jan 24)10:0004jun(jun 4)06:30Bollywood Superstars: A Short Story of Indian Cinema