Description
Object description
In her film, ELECTRICAL GAZA, Nashashibi combines her footage of the cities, beaches and refugee camps of the Gaza Strip, and her entourage of fixer, translator and drivers, with animated scenes. She presents Gaza resembling a place from myth: isolated, arrested in time, inaccessible and highly charged.
Physical description
HD transfer from 16mm film, with animation and sound. 18 minutes. Quicktime file contained on a hard drive, together with clips and low resolution viewing copy.
Label
In her film, ELECTRICAL GAZA, Nashashibi combines her footage of the cities, beaches and refugee camps of the Gaza Strip, and her entourage of fixer, translator and drivers, with animated scenes. She presents Gaza resembling a place from myth: isolated, arrested in time, inaccessible and highly charged.
Rosalind Nashashibi is an award-winning artist whose work explores the rhythms and rituals of everyday life but often incorporates unexpected or fictional elements that challenge expectations. Born in Britain to a Palestinian father and an Irish mother she brings a fascinating perspective to this piece, including a childhood memory of a beach picnic at the Gaza seaside.
ELECTRICAL GAZA was commissioned by IWM as we continue to develop our collections to explore the impact of contemporary conflict on people's lives. Britain has been involved in the Middle East since the First World War and IWM, founded in 1917, has collected material which reflects this history. This commission forms part of our collecting on conflict in the region today. Nashashibi was chosen by IWM's Art Commissions Committee after considering proposals invited from a range of artists.
Gaza is one of the most volatile places in the world today, and its people live in very challenging circumstances. Israel, which occupied Gaza during the 1967 Six Day War, withdrew its forces and settlers in 2005 but retained control over Gaza's airspace, waters and most of its borders. The last decade has seen constant tension between Israel and the Hamas authorities in Gaza, with rocket attacks on Israel from within Gaza, and stringent Israeli restrictions on the movement of people, food and other goods in and out of Gaza. Since 2008 this has turned into open conflict several times, resulting in intensified Palestinian rocket attacks with the Israeli response of heavy bombardment, and ground incursions. Nashashibi's filming took place during the build-up to the most recent hostilities in 2014.
History note
Commissioned by the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, 2015.