Mohammad Abou Chair, The story of an olive tree in a whirlpool, 2023
Mohammad Abou Chair / WARP #09
May 13 – Jun 24, 2023
SEA Foundation
Tilburg, The Netherlands

Mohammad Abou Chair (1994) is a Palestinian/Dutch artist, filmmaker and designer based in Tilburg. As part of the SEA Foundation’s program WARP, which relates to the currently researched fold #07 on Solidarity, he presents an excerpt from his debut feature film The story of an olive tree in a whirlpool (2023). With the adaptation of this work, he shows an entry to his feature film and welcomes passers-by to enter the exhibition room and learn about the Palestinian diaspora, and in solidarity with those who dare to rise from nothing.

With the deepest desire to share the untold narratives of many Palestinians who found themselves in a state of occupation or refuge, they can not control on their own, he started conversations and interviews with family members, friends and strangers. This urgency gave him the power to escape a tunnel of nothingness and challenge the situation by making something out of it. This something – the film – does not tell a story of the struggle of refugees’ displacement in Europe but instead, it portrays a shared story of longing for a homeland.

The exhibition is part of WARP, a series of vitrine exhibitions which were activated in 2020. These exhibitions now also follow the SEA Foundation’s folds on art and sustainability, currently researching fold #07 on Solidarity. The WARP series aims to stimulate artistic research and present the adaptations of the works made by regional artists or artists with regional connections.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS
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