Only seldom can Palestinians reply to the question, “where do you come from” in a single word. The most varied of replies are possible and all of them are complicated, naming places that are often no longer accessible to them, or no longer exist as Arab settlements. Frequently, curfews and the status of a stateless refugee are insuperable obstacles to travel. The Palestinian artist Emily Jacir can move freely in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip because she holds a US-passport.

In her work Where We Come From Jacir uses her freedom of movement to undertake errands. She turned to friends and acquaintances with the question, “If I could do something for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it be?” The requests people made of her range somewhere between pragmatism, sentimentality and the expression of highly intimate wishes. Using texts, photographs and a film, Where We Come From documents the impact of the political situation on the everyday lives of Palestinians in a sober conceptual form that links intimate and personal stories very directly and compellingly.

Emily Jacir was born in Bethlehem (Palestine) in 1970 and grew up in Saudi Arabia, Italy, France and the United States after her family was driven out of Palestine. She studied at the University of Dallas and at the Memphis College of Art, was a scholarship holder in the 1998-1999 Whitney Studio Program and the 1999-2000 PS1 Studio Program, and from 2003-2004 in the Linz artist-in-residence program. Woher wir kommen is Jacir’s first solo exhibition in Germany.

PROGRAM

10 November 2004, 7 p.m. Arabic for beginners– Introduction to the Arabic Language
18 November 2004, 7.30 p.m. Screening night
Screnning: Route 181 – Fragmente einer Reise in Palästina/Israel // Bel/F/D/GB 2003 // R: Michel Khlefi, Eyal Sivan // 270 Min, OmU
25 November 2004, 8.30 p.m. (part 1)
26 November 2004, 8.30 p.m. (part 2)
27 November 2004, 8.30 p.m. (part 3)
28 November 2004, 6 p.m. (all 3 parts) In cooperation with Kino 46 // Waller Heerstrasse 46 // 28217 Bremen

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