Somebody’s Brother, Somebody's Son

Since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict began, many people have been killed. During the course of the popular uprising known as the Intifada, many who have lost their lives have been Palestinians under the age of 16. With this work, I am interested in evoking a counterpoint to the view of the Palestinians as ‘other’ – different, uncultured, uncivilized – which is how they have been portrayed in our media. An important step in resolving the conflict is to begin to respect the Palestinian’s right to exist, right to be different, right to freedom.

In early April 1989, a seventeen-year-old Palestinian boy, Hamad, was interviewed in al-Amari Refugee Camp near Ramallah, West Bank. The interview took place during an eight-day trip to Gaza and the West Bank. Over the course of this trip, I met approximately 100 Palestinians. Hamad was killed in an incident two days after this interview. I had not yet left the Middle East.

This video object is designed to be placed either against a wall, or in a corner. A pedestal made of wood and corrugated tin acts as a support for a field of dirt in which a small video monitor and a live tree are embedded. There is a soundtrack accompanying this piece which the viewers listen to through headphones. The videotape shows images of Hamad mixed with other images of people and water. The video monitor has its ‘guts’ exposed, in other words, the cover is missing and one can view the working innards.