Behind Walls-maps
Behind Walls, 2008,2017 multimedia installation, 80 clay spheres (various sizes), strings spun from clothing (various lengths and amounts), sand, audio soundtrack on DVD (48 min.17 sec), video animations 2min. 33sec M.A.I Gallery 2008 & A Space Gallery, Toronto, 2011 This web-like structure constructed from woven threads while listening to fragments of interviews conducted with Kurds living in Montreal and abroad. Minimalist in appearance, this work is rich in associations, suggesting the arbitrary nature of maps and history, the fragile nature of memory, and even the interconnectedness of a diaspora scattered across the globe. Visitors are invited to walk through the constructed work. The final animation is a video projection on to the floor in which the new Arabic names will fade in and out on the clay spheres on the ground that are inscribed with the names of Kurdish cities that have been renamed in Arabic.
