Desert Call

October 2021

Desert Call is a performance art piece exhibiting the body as a political site to connect the personal and the political, the internal and the external, the local and the global.

The piece is inspired by the artist fellowship through Western State center on the interaction of anti-Semitism and anti-Blackness. The fellowship explored the connections and parallels between systems of oppression and brought forth an intersectional vision of racial justice. 

Desert Call highlights my personal process of unlearning and healing as a Jewish person indigineous to Jerusalem. The movements of the body narrate various expressions of consciousness that I inhabit throughout this healing process. It highlights the internal dialogue in the body as it attempts to liberate itself from the impacts of racism and colonization. 

My process of making sense of Israel/Palestine and my own identity as an Arab Jew has been greatly influenced by Black liberation movements in the US. Particularly, the writings of James Baldwin have inspired me to understand the power of speaking truth and articulating politics through the lens of how we experience them. I choose to integrate quotes from James Baldwin throughout the performance to create this hybrid reality, between the desert in Jerusalem and Black experience in the States. 

The video was filmed in the desert near Jerusalem by the city of Jericho. It is overlooking the Dead Sea, known as the lowest point on Earth. This setting is symbolic for revealing the internal reality: only when we let ourselves touch the depth within us do we begin to liberate ourselves and our communities. 

Music by transformation trainer & creative healing practitioner Didier Sylvain @__didiersylvain__