Traditional Palestinian embroidery speaks of a connection with the land. Two Jordanian designers are updating and reinterpreting that history for contemporary audiences, writes Keith J Fernandez.
Throughout its history, embroidery has served as a narrative medium, denoting wealth, social status, ethnic identity, or belief systems. Now two designers want to transform those relatively fragile artworks into something more permanent while celebrating and safeguarding the folklore of a persecuted nation.
Architect Nisreen Abudail and her sister, graphic designer Nermeen Abudail, draw on their Palestinian heritage in their work for Naqsh Collective, the Amman-based practice they established in 2010. The siblings recast embroidery patterns and textile motifs into modern art and design pieces made from durable materials such as stone, brass and marble. Thus, their work breaks free of clichéd tropes about Palestinian identity and presents a new and thought-provoking angle on one of the central issues of our time.
“Embroidery is more than a decorative element as it carries the story of a nation and [its] lives, memories, expressions and additions to the environment,” Nisreen says. “Embroidery is a collective treasure, and by selecting durable materials like stone, wood, brass and copper, it gives it a feeling of immortality that will keep those identities alive for generations to come.”
Palestinian embroidery has a rich history. Up until the 1940s, stitches and colours used in the thread work of a garment could telecast its wearer’s origins, economic status and social standing. As in other parts of the Middle East, each village in Palestine had specific identifying motifs, according to historian Hanan Munayyer, co-founder of New Jersey-based Palestinian Heritage Foundation. Among the patterns used were the moon, the eight-pointed star, palm leaves, birds and, to protect against the evil eye, diamonds or triangles.
Nisreen and Nermeen bring a contemporary dimension to those patterns and immortalise them in enduring materials. The Shawl, a wall panel of walnut wood engraved with traditional patterns and then hand-inlaid with brass shavings and custom-cut metal, was one of eight pieces shortlisted for last year’s Jameel Prize 5, a biennial award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition.
Since embroidery was largely used on women’s garments, the designers’ work spotlights the untold stories of thousands of women across the region. “Embroidery shows how all women from all around different areas in the Middle East were deeply connected with their lands and reflected that connection through their craft,” Nisreen says. “We see motifs showing local fauna and flora, as well as cultural values and wedding and death rituals, and so on. Embroidery was a means of communication for the region’s women, a way of expressing themselves.”
Geographic markers appear more vividly in other pieces, often going to the heart of the Palestinian identity. At a solo show at the Tabari ArtSpace in the Dubai International Financial Centre district this summer, the Abudail sisters displayed Akka (or Acre, as the West knows it), a marble and brass piece that seems to depict a group of youths jumping off the wall of Akka into the water below. Akka is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on earth, with remnants of 11th-century fortifications still guarding its harbour and providing a jump-off point for local teens.
At Venice Design 2018 in Italy, Naqsh presented two stone tables. Umm Assarab, made from basalt and brass, paid tribute to the embroidery motif called Kheimat Al Basha (Pasha’s Tent), while Umm Qais, realised in Botticino marble and brass, was inspired by the Shajar Nakheel (palm tree) motif. The tables are part of the Wihdeh (Unity) collection. In Palestinian embroidery, a group of stitches that makes up one motif is considered a single unit. The Abudail sisters engrave these motifs onto different pieces, echoing their belief in unification. They see each piece is an invitation to the viewer to interact with their homeland, its people and its history.
In November, they will bring a series called Yafa (or Jaffa) to Abu Dhabi Art. The exhibit at this fair will document Palestine in photos while also featuring geometrical pieces inspired by embroidery motifs. Another upcoming exhibition in Dubai will focus more firmly on the embroidery aspects.