Study (Red Which Is Blue), a hand-embroidery in cotton on Aida on canvas by Jordan Nassar, is one of the new works tracing the history of Palestine at Anat Ebgi in Los Angeles, California.

ART EXHIBITION: 

Jordan Nassar Traces the History of Palestinians through hand-embroidery in his second solo exhibition at Anat Ebgi Gallery.  The new works reveal his longing for a utopian future where the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts are a distant memory.

BY KAZAD

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA–A new series of hand-embroidered canvases are the major highlights of Jordan Nassar’s first solo exhibition at Anat Ebgi in Los Angeles. The new works feature compositions of undulating fantastical landscapes in jeweled colors made from symbols adapted from traditional Palestinian embroidery.

Jordan Nassar goes deep into the Palestinian culture, tradition, and history to create the new works in this show. In the new series, the artist examines the authenticity of his own creation by initiating a dialogue between his own embroidery and its connection to the place and history of Palestine.

Jordan Nassar Handcraft Embroidery

Each work reflects the handcraft of embroidery often featured in traditional Palestinian women’s dresses. The embroidery and designs on Palestinian women’s clothing serve several purposes. They are not just for aesthetics; they also trace the familial records of transience and movement. For Nassar, the appropriation of those embroideries and patterns in his new works provides him the opportunity to address the intersection of craft, language, history, and (geo) politics. It also allows him to understand their convergence with technology in a way that brings focus to his own tradition.

A Palestinian-American, Jordan Nassar began learning the skill necessary to create traditional embroidery as part of an effort to connect with his heritage.  His landscape creations reflect his state of mind and desires. As a descendant of the Palestinian diaspora, Nassar’s new works are meditations on alienation and displacement. Each piece carries with it a sense of nostalgia and Nassar’s quest to capture ancestors’ stories of a Palestine where there is peace and harmony.  There is also a longing for a utopian future where the conflicts are a distant memory.

To bring context and understanding to the new works and exhibition, Nassar published a limited edition zine. Titled Dunya, it features his essay. In the essay, Nassar defines Dunya:

To put it simply, Dunya is the whole world. In a religious context, it is This World, as opposed to The Next, but it is more than that. Dunya is the world you swear by when you promise true love. It is the world that is ruined when your heart is broken. Dunya is the earth, the dirt, the trees, the rivers, the oceans, the sun, the sky, the birds, the cats, the dogs, and the people.

About the Artist

Born 1985 in New York, NY, Jordan Nassar’s first solo exhibition was titled JAFFA: NEW WORKS at the Artport Tel Aviv, Israel in April of this year.   The show at Anat Ebgi will serve as his second solo show. Nassar has participated in several group exhibitions, including presentations with Arcadia Missa, NY; LVL3, Chicago; and Evelyn Yard, London. He will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art entitled, Long, Winding Journeys: Contemporary Art and the Islamic Tradition curated by Elizabeth Rooklidge. He has released numerous self-published zines. His work has been reviewed in The Third Rail and Elephant Magazine.

Have you seen any of Jordan Nassar’s works in an exhibition? What do you think? Share your thoughts. Leave a comment.