Manal Mahamid
منال محاميد
Lives and works in Haïfa
Manal Mahamid was born in Moawia. She holds a Master’s in Fine Arts at the University of Haifa as well as a degree in Museology and Curating from the University of Tel Aviv. Mahamid works across multiple mediums, including video, installation, painting and photography often exploring the relationship between historical facts, their narration and interpretation. Daily life often becomes the inspiration for extended research into histories and identities. Mahamid was shortlisted for the A.M Qattan Young Artist of the Year Award in 2002. She is a recipient of the 2007 Delfina Foundation’s Resident Artist Award as part of the Riwaq Biennale (Palestine). Mahamid has participated in many art residencies including Delfina Foundation in London (England) and Townhouse Gallery in Cairo (Egypt). She has participated in over 50 group exhibitions.
Fine Dust, 2007. © Youtube channel of the artist.
Manal Mahamid’s video Fine Dust examines the relationship between land, life, and settler colonialism. Holding a three-legged Palestinian gazelle, the artist traces the landscape of Palestine, running through its rich and varied topography. Its idea began with her encounter with a gazelle in an Israeli zoo, labeled “Palestinian gazelle” in English and Arabic. The creature suffered an amputation in one of his legs. When Mahamid returned to visit the gazelle, she found him moved to a Palestinian zoo in the West Bank. She then began her research and representation of the Palestinian gazelle as a symbol and metaphor of the conditions of the country, using various media, including sculpture and video. This Palestinian gazelle has great significance in Palestinian culture; it is found in literature, poetry, song, as well as in visual art.