A verse from the "Poem of the Land" by Mahmoud Darwish, 1988
Black and white photographic print
250 Olive oil cans
Neon

In this immersive installation, Hazem Harb asks the viewer to step through a wall of empty olive oil containers. The cans speak of the importance of olives as building blocks for Palestine's agriculture and are a symbol of the country’s identity. On the one hand, olive trees serve as a source of income, a liquid gold. On the other, they stand as a quintessential symbol of the country's resilience and continuity, not least because of their longevity. 

Inside, the artist reveals a photograph from his archival collection that engulfs the viewer with a vast landscape of the city of Jerusalem in 1920 - inviting the viewer into his homeland, Palestine. The illuminated words 'I am the land and the land is you', a verse from Palestine’s national poet Mahmoud Darwish’s Poem of the Land, written in 1988, addresses the universal notion of belonging to a country, despite being apart from it.

This installation stands in line with the artist’s large solo exhibition entitled “Hazem Harb. Temporary Museum. For Palestine” at the Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah, UAE, that runs from 20 October 2021 until 10 February 2022. Established in 2006, Maraya Art Centre is a non-profit creative organization under the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). Maraya Art Centre offers innovative programmes through its multifaceted initiatives, and public outreach activities including workshops, lectures, talks and other art related events.