SEVERAL ATTEMPTS FOR NOT FORGETTING

In their collaborative exhibition, artists and filmmakers Noor Abuarafeh and Huda Takriti explore gaps in historiography, archives, and practices of re-remembrance – themes that are central to both their work. In the philomena+ project space, they present video works, photography, and text, alongside a lecture performance. A letter correspondence serves as the starting point for reflecting on modes of collective grief, witnessing, recording, and the ever-changing role of archives in truth-making. The exhibition presents work-in-progress, incorporates text extracts, anecdotes, literary references and archive photos. 

Visitors are invited to step into the exhibition, conceived as an active space for reflection, engaging with artistic approaches that re-examine history and the refusal of the finality imposed on objects and meanings. The reading nook extends this experience by offering a space to rest and dive deeper into the references from the letter excerpts.

Through translucent prints and negative-like images, the display explores four interconnected themes. It begins by questioning witnessing and collective grief: Can images grieve? Do they witness us in return? This challenges the traditional role of witnessing, examining the dynamic relationship between observer and observed, and how grief can become a collective, active practice. The second section shifts to explore the interplay between language and the commodification of objects, examining how colonial archival practices strip objects of their lived histories, highlighting the tension between preservation and erasure. Central to the exchange is the role of oral traditions as tools of resistance, emphasizing their fluidity. Coded practices like bird signing or whispering resist oppression, preserving memory and truth outside institutional control. Finally, the last section reflects on color as both memory and symbol, examining its power to preserve history and embody ongoing struggles. These elements reflect the artists’ methodologies to building their work. In the back room, video works by the two artists delve into themes of archives, witnessing, the politics of objects, and storytelling. These works expand on the collaboration’s central concerns, offering a shared exploration of history, memory, and resistance.