Al khirbe

On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was declared on Palestinian land. Since then, the territory of Palestine continues to shrink as Israel expands its settlements. One of Israel's strategies to colonize and expand is practiced through the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes.

The root of the word utopia comes from Greek, which means no place or nowhere. Al khirbe in Arabic means wreckage, ruins or ruined and shattered area. In Palestine and Lebanon, the word is used to name a place/ village where old, ruined and abandoned houses are clustered together. In this project I recreate the demolished and dismembered houses in occupied East Jerusalem. The impenetrable glass hoods covering each house serve to freeze the moment of destruction and accentuate on the problem of separation and inaccessibility. In this way, the houses of the destroyed urban space are gathered in a "no place" resembling a cemetery, to show the destructive force of the occupation.