Yaba, Музей искусств Умм-эль-Фахма, до 30 сентября

Abeer Mreih

Yaba (Documentary Video for a Performance Work), 2020

Production, consultation, artistic direction, and management: Farid Abu Shakra

Video and still photography: Raafat Zreik

Editing: Jamil Mahamid

Abeer Mreih belongs to a generation of women artists who found themselves confronting society through the field of Palestinian visual art. Their contributions earned them recognition within their communities and enabled them to leave a distinct mark on the development of Palestinian art. Moving beyond naïve and stereotypical representations of the “Oriental” scene, they embraced realism, a certain form of romanticism, and social and political engagement. In doing so, they restored agency and visibility to the Eastern woman, reconnecting her to contemporary realities and modern intellectual currents. Their artistic language developed a unique character, reflected in their depictions of themselves and of other women, rendered with remarkable precision and attention to detail.

In Mreih’s video work, symbols, meanings, and values emerge as signs of a deeper truth that resides within the illuminated surface of the screen. The woman appears as an open wound — one that continues to bleed — anchored in a complex identity and in an ongoing struggle with that identity. This struggle awakens the artist’s curiosity and drives her to participate in the effort to bridge psychological and social gaps. Through her work, she seeks to expose the “cancer” of crime that has spread throughout Palestinian Arab society in Israel, while pointing to the authorities’ failure to address the issue: turning a blind eye to the flow of illegal weapons on the one hand, and neglecting to employ the legal tools available to combat crime on the other.

The artist narrows the social void that surrounds her — a void that constrains both feeling and thought — preserving them within a clear and grounded environmental reality. At the same time, her work reveals a profound desire for change and reform: a battle declared within an aesthetic space. Like a storm gathering force, the work is charged with suppressed anger and emotion, reflecting a rebellious, vibrant, and life-affirming personality. Mreih employs rich and liberated modes of expression, infusing her work with values that successfully convey female subjectivity, her life story, and the psychological tensions she experiences. She constructs an unconventional audiovisual narrative that breaks accepted boundaries.

By illuminating the brighter aspects of her existence, Mreih draws attention to the importance of seeing the human being. In doing so, she emphasizes the debate and latent resistance embedded within the work, confronting negative social phenomena and exposing their consequences.

Mreih is an artist deeply affected by and emotionally engaged with the realities around her. Through this emotional involvement, she expresses solidarity with complex issues that move between the visible beauty of the world and the hidden dimensions that society is obliged to confront and challenge. Her work raises questions of belonging and roots, rejects passivity, and asserts the true value of women and their vital role in combating corruption, crime, and the denial of their legitimate rights.

The work is composed of two primary materials: straw, a structural material that provides stability, and soft nourishing dough, which symbolizes life. These two essential substances — both fundamental to existence — are mixed together into a heavy mass that threatens to overtake the space of the body.