- Dr. AbdalHadi Alijila
- Homo Sacer
- artifact installation
Inside a glass jar, a real passport issued by the Palestinian Authority is sealed. Typically, a passport grants freedom of movement and recognition, but in this piece, it's transformed into an object preserved, sealed, and silenced within a tightly sealed jar. The artist owns this passport, which was issued in the late 1990s as a teenager, and the jar, also from Gaza, was brought to Europe filled with zaatar. The glass jar can be seen as both protecting and imprisoning the identity. Through this artwork, Abdalhadi explores the paradox of belonging and identity, as well as how a passport can define one's self.