Nourabb: Methods

Why, What, How

1. Book of censorship is a project I began that addresses (or looks at) the western perspective media coverage on Palestine. This project highlights the hidden agenda of some news outlets. The eventual outcome of the project is a book consisting of mixed media imagery full of factual and relevant news items on this subject. However, as the title suggests, it is censored, literally. Tools used for this censorship, are images of symbolism. The imagery and use of color are meant to invoke feelings of injustice. The color scheme further matches the colors of the Palestinian flag. A moment has also been taken to appreciate two Palestinian icons: Mahmoud Darwish (my chronic condition: hope) and my grandmother. I am a big fan of using irony in my art, therefore, The Book of Censorship is full of contradictions. One could even state it can't be considered a book as there is barely anything to be read at all. This project is not only personal but relevant as well. With the massive amount of information out there, it is easy to get lost and be mislead.

Growing up in an environment in The Netherlands that has been largely uninformed about the Palestinian struggle has impacted me greatly. The struggle and misconceptions surrounding it have played an important role in shaping my life as a Palestinian. This thought is the inspiration behind the Book of censorship. Furthermore, reading the book ‘Bad Girls of the Arab World’, specifically the chapter entitled ‘The Making of Bad Palestinian Mothers’ (by Adania Shibli), struck a chord with me. The manner in which this chapter was written resonated with me and perfectly captured my views on this issue. A week later, by chance, I visited a museum where I encountered imagery that I deeply connected with. The imagery, the book and my feelings converged to inspire me to begin sketching. For the visuals, inspiration was taken from the magazine circus and The Roaring Silence. Personally, I find that they invoke a rebellious and even provoking attitude. This influenced my design choices. Additionally, to support my research, I spoke with an academic with expertise in this area and gained incredible insights on the topic. A highlight was collaborating with my grandmother who agreed to a photoshoot.

As mentioned, I grew up in an environment that was uninformed about Palestine. This would result in awkward conversations when my friends would share their opinions that Israel represented good and the problems facing Palestinians were of their own doing. I would ask them where they found this information and they would share that it came from family, friends, or news articles. 'Fake News' has become a mainstream topic, in my eyes, only in the last few years. However, in my reality, as is true for many Palestinians, fake news has been a relevant topic for a very long time. Moreover, research indicates that 'the dominant interpretations of the Palestine conflict and the language that conveys them show that the consensus of the print and electronic media is based on denying the existence of the Palestinians as a nation, generally absolving Israel of responsibility, and, to appropriate Edward Said's terminology, a tendency to blame the victim.' (Fuchs, 2018).

Version 2:

Book of censorship is a project I began that addresses the Western perspective media coverage on Palestine. This project highlights the hidden agenda of some news outlets. The eventual outcome of the project is a book consisting of mixed media imagery full of factual and relevant news items on this subject. However, as the title suggests, it is censored, literally. Tools used for this censorship, are images of symbolism, which lends itself to giving criticism to the current structure. The imagery and use of color are meant to invoke feelings of injustice, furthermore, as the Western media often censors Palestinian positivity and support, the color scheme further matches the colors of the Palestinian flag - in this way, support in an indirect way that can't be censored is created. A moment has also been taken to appreciate two Palestinian icons: Mahmoud Darwish (a Palestinian poet) and my grandmother (who is a Nakba survivor). I am a big fan of using irony in my art, therefore, The Book of Censorship is full of contradictions. One could even state it can't be considered a book as there is barely anything to be read at all.

Growing up in an environment that has been largely uninformed about Palestine brought a struggle surrounding misconceptions in my upbringing. as a result of the media censoring Palestinian stories, I was often in situations where i would have to sugarcoat the struggle of Palestinians to my friends because their news outlets told them differently. This experience is the inspiration behind the Book of censorship. Furthermore, reading the book ‘Bad Girls of the Arab World’, struck a chord with me. A week later, by chance, I visited a museum where I encountered imagery that I deeply connected with. The imagery, the book and my feelings converged to inspire me to begin sketching. For the visuals, inspiration was taken from the magazine circus and The Roaring Silence. Personally, I find that they invoke a rebellious and even provoking attitude - a aesthetic i wanted to apply. This influenced my design choices. Additionally, to support my research, I spoke with an academic with expertise in Palestine and gained incredible insights on the topic of Palestine in the Western news. A highlight was collaborating with my grandmother who agreed to a photoshoot, as she is from the generation that is born and grew up in Palestine but also had to flee the country during the war, she is my closest connection to my homeland.

As mentioned, I grew up in an environment that was uninformed about Palestine. This would result in awkward conversations when my friends would share their opinions that Israel represented good and the problems facing Palestinians were of their own doing. I would ask them where they found this information and they would share that it came from family, friends, or news articles. 'Fake News' has become a mainstream topic, in my eyes, only in the last few years. However, in my reality, as is true for many Palestinians, fake news has been a relevant topic for a very long time. Personally, it has resulted in me being careful when adressing this topic with a certain audience. therefore, i chose a non sugar coating aesthetic for this piece which is a bit grim, non-apolagetic, rebelious and in your face. Moreover, research indicates that 'the dominant interpretations of the Palestine conflict and the language that conveys them show that the consensus of the print and electronic media is based on denying the existence of the Palestinians as a nation, generally absolving Israel of responsibility, and, to appropriate Edward Said's terminology, a tendency to blame the victim.' (Fuchs, 2018).