Threnody for the Dispossessed
unfolding the book at the Swarthmore library. photo by Hussam Al-Obaidi.
THRENODY FOR THE DISPOSSESSED (2019) is a sixty-foot long screen-printed scroll/accordion-book that impressionistically interweaves the experiences of people displaced by war in the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. Images and experiences flow freely into another, the trails of tear gas morphing into the mists of limbo. A “wailing ode”, a chorus of voices drawn from historical accounts and contemporary interviews accompanies the book, part of an original score by multi-instrumentalist Julius Masri.
This work was commissioned as part of the Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary project for Swarthmore College Rare Books Collection in 2018/2019 and exhibited at Swarthmore College McCabe Library, Twelve Gates Arts, the Philadelphia Free Library - Parkway Central and Booklyn.
Available for sale at Booklyn.