Holding Space explores the notion of roots, both in its natural and cultural aspects. The fact that roots are in constant growth emphasizes the permanent nature of change. In this exhibition, I seek to understand if this custom also implies on the cultural roots? Are we as people naturally doing the same? Continuously moving and recontextualizing ourselves as we grow? Is change the only thing we have to hold onto as our ‘original’ habitat? On the center wall of the exhibition, a line of paper-cut trees is hung. The displacement of the trees in the midst of the wall whispers to my own complex feeling of belonging and the dynamic feelings I experience in the very basic question of where are my original roots. The foundation of this exhibition is completed as the viewers start walking on a thin layer of a cement floor placed upon the original wooden floor of the gallery. The placement of the ‘foreign’ layer on the ‘original’ floor echoes questions about the notion 'original' and 'foreign'. The circular question of the original form of the floor continues to unfold as the viewers slowly walk on it as it cracks. The constant cracking of the floor allows a literal observation of change, a deep understanding that it is the only constant thing in our life. More than belonging, home, and land, we are all in this constant movement and change in time. In juxtaposition, cement fragments with engraved images from the Israeli-Palestinian conflicted history contain both movement and steadiness. On one hand, there is the static form of the cement material that represents the stagnant condition of the Israeli occupation. On the other hand, there is the movement of the wet cement that my hands are trying to stop from covering and erasing the painful presence of the past. The reality captured in the wet cement is transformed into everlasting objects that are no longer dynamic nor in change. Just like the broken floor won’t become solid again, the cement work on the wall would never be wet and flexible again, resembling my deep fear and concern in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian condition. All photos were taken by Gisela Clement Gallery

holding space | Gisela clement Galerie, Bonn, Germany, February-may 2020