JANNA JASSER

My goal is to connect what is left from the past with the present; to start creating for the future. Colinization and the violence of an occupation has resulted in the destruction of curcial historical information and archives of a people, I aim to dig deep to gather what is left from these archives and study them as my source of inspiration.

Amidst war and destruction, the determination and perseverance to continue to create is a rebellion against the colonial power. In their attempt at erasing a peoples history and culture, the practice of creation and creativity is a subtle but important part in fighting an occupation.

This project was initiated while I was working on a completely different project. The first included crochet and knitting, but the more research and practice I did, the more intruiged I became at embroidery. The fine details and the time required to create such an interecate work of art motivated me to learn more about it. I fell into a rabbit-hole of palestinian embroidery and I wanted to learn the siginificance of each shape, symbol and stitch. That was when I decided I need to use the traditional designs to understand them better and to connect to my ancestors.