Curating Palestinian (His)Stories in John Halaka’s Memories of Memories
Survivors.
The stamped words overlap, intertwine, and merge, concealing the grey pallid tones of the canvas. Gazing along the vast 22-foot-long surface of the piece, the words Forgotten, Survivors form faces, hands, torsos, legs, and arms; a tableau of disjointed bodies lost in a shapeless wilderness of words. Titled Stripped of Their Identity and Driven from Their Land by artist John Halaka, the pieced functioned as the focal point in Memories of Memories, a month-long exhibition hosted at the Mississippi State University Depot Gallery from February 9-March 3, 2023. Speaking from within the Palestinian diaspora, Halaka’s work serves in conversation with primary and secondary generations of Palestinians impacted by the 1948 Nakba or catastrophe. The show, curated in conjunction with Dixie Boswell, comprised drawings, photographs, documentary films, and infographs created by Halaka during various return trips to Palestine over the past several decades.
Considering the selection of works in Memories of Memories, our contribution to the CAA panel seeks to examine the critical impact of Halaka’s show. Through a series of roundtables, workshops, and lectures, Memories of Memories elucidated complex conversations centered on the effects/after-effects of colonialism, dispossession, displacement, and land-grabbing. We further unpack how Halaka’s show enabled students and members of the MSU and Starkville communities to think critically about land rights and research the continued struggle for cultural autonomy and self-determination in the face of colonization. To complement the analysis of the show, we include excerpts from conversations with Halaka about his work and methodology.