Artist-in-Residence - Emily Jacir 2002

Emily Jacir’s residency project explored the very personal idea of displacement that so many Palestinians have to live with. Where We Come From/(Im)mobility was a based on the artist’s ‘freedom of movement’ as a Palestinian with an American passport. Jacir utilized her passport to access Palestine for Palestinians who are denied the freedom to go to their own homeland and/or to move freely within it. The starting point of the project was a question addressed to Palestinians living in exile: "If I could do anything for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it be?"

Jacir asked people to send their requests of what they wanted her to do and with her ‘golden ticket’ (her U.S. passport), she was able to move freely, circumventing barriers and connecting people to their homeland, their wishes, their dreams. In the very act of connecting people to their homeland by fulfilling their requests, the work ascertained and documented their disconnection as well.

The final form her project took was an installation consisting of photos, a DVD projection and text of requests she had been sent, including the following:

"Go to Haifa and play soccer with the first Palestinian boy you see on the street."

"Drink the water in my parents' village."

"Go to Bayt Lahia and bring me a photo of my family, specially of my brother's kids."

"Go to the Israeli post office in Jerusalem and pay my phone bill."

"Go to my mother's grave in Jerusalem on her birthday and place flowers and pray."

"Do something on a normal day in Haifa, something I might do if I was living there now."