Women of the Levant 2021

In search of female representation Looking back at the history of the Levant, one cannot help but think about the women who lived there during the turbulent times following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of nationalist aspirations. Women are almost entirely absent from the official narratives, as the political scene was always dominated by male figures, while their female counterparts merely served as models for postcards and exotic tales from the Orient. However, the reality was not quite so sobering. Early on, women fought to have their voices heard, founding trade unions and associations, launching newspapers and magazines, courageously resisting their oppressors and accepting the consequences of their courage.

This artwork combines the media of video and photomontage and uses archive images and excerpts from the book ‘Sirens in My Head’ by Ghada Al Samman, one of the most famous Arab writers.