Firas Shehadeh on Postcolonial Digitality and the Human Condition
Vienna-based Palestinian artist and researcher Firas Shehadeh discusses his practice connecting postcolonial thought with internet subcultures. His work 'There, Where You Are Not' (2022) explores digitality and postcolonialism, inspired by his childhood in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. 'Pure Life' (2020) addresses ecosystem colonization, focusing on the Dead Sea's exploitation by Israeli agriculture and cosmetics industries, linking it to colonial myths. Shehadeh draws on Frantz Fanon and Donna Haraway's 'Chthulucene'. He co-curated Darat Al Funun's online exhibition 'The Internet of Things: Another World is Possible' during the pandemic. For the Singapore Biennale, he presents 'Signal Feels Collision' (2022), commissioned by the biennale, exploring how Global South communities use technology to communicate reality, including Palestinian coded Arabic to bypass Meta's censorship. The work comprises digital prints on aluminum and a performance with postcolonial texts.
Key facts
- Firas Shehadeh is a Vienna-based Palestinian artist and researcher.
- His work 'There, Where You Are Not' (2022) explores internet and digitality with postcolonial thought.
- He grew up in Saudi Arabia near the Kuwait border and later moved to a refugee camp in Jordan.
- 'Pure Life' (2020) deals with colonization of ecosystems like the Dead Sea.
- The Dead Sea is predicted to disappear by 2050 due to Israeli exploitation.
- He draws on Frantz Fanon and Donna Haraway's ideas.
- He co-curated Darat Al Funun's online exhibition 'The Internet of Things: Another World is Possible' with Joud Tamimi and Reem Marji.
- At the Singapore Biennale, he exhibits 'Signal Feels Collision' (2022), commissioned by the biennale.
- The work includes digital prints on aluminum and a performance with autotuned readings of postcolonial texts.
- Palestinians use coded Arabic to bypass Meta's censorship of Palestinian content.
Entities
Artists
- Firas Shehadeh
- Frantz Fanon
- Donna Haraway
- Edward Said
Institutions
- Canvas
- Darat Al Funun
- Singapore Biennale
- Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna
- Meta
Locations
- Vienna
- Austria
- Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait
- Jordan
- Dead Sea
- Israel
- Palestine
- Gaza
- Turkey
- Singapore