The Diver by Jumana Emil Abboud
Palestine
4 min | 2004
The online presentation of films from „Arab Shorts 2009” on this site ended by 31 December 2011.
The Diver is a video narrative that tells the story of a Diver whose gender, name, and nationality are ambiguous, and who is on an endless search to find ‘Heart’. The places the Diver visits are nameless, referred to only as “earth, sea, sky, and snow.” They are unclaimed territories the Diver passes through on the quest for ‘Heart’. Using the diving suit as the ultimate veil, disguise or defence mechanism, the Diver’s world (and identity) is somewhat unknown, unclaimed. On one level, the Diver is an outcast: it is certain that he/she has a home but it is not known where. The Diver seeks the advice of others and wanders from one place to another, committed to the quest. Yet, on another level, the Diver is portrayed as a kind of "superhero", applauded for being unique: an independent traveller ready to venture into "unknown places" with relentless will and calm solitude.
About the Filmmaker
Jumana Emil Abboud was born in Palestine in 1971 and educated in Canada. Back in Palestine, she graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. She uses drawing, video art, installation and performance; salient themes animating her practice include memory, loss and resilience. Abboud's group exhibitions include; Disorientation, House of World Cultures, Berlin (2003); Fleeing Away from What Bothers You Mostly, Magasin 3, Stockholm (2007); the 9th Lyon Biennial (2007); Palestine 1948, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam (2008); Women Artists, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Algiers (2008); Cactus Juice, Maison des Metallos, Paris (2008); Scenes du Sud II – Mediterranee Orientale, Museum of Contemporary Art - Carré d'Art, Nimes (2008); Never Part - Histories of Palestine, Bozar, Brussels; the 53rd Venice Biennial (2009); the 11th Istanbul Biennial (2009). Workshops and artist-in-residence participation include Window unto Venus organised by Zerynthia Association for Contemporary Art, Rome (1999); Guestatelier Aarau, Switzerland (2002); Liminal Spaces workshop, Ramallah, Qalandiya and Jerusalem (2006); Cove Park, Scotland (2006); Artists Initiative Tokyo (2005 & 2008).
Jumana Emil Abboud was born in Palestine in 1971 and educated in Canada. Back in Palestine, she graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. She uses drawing, video art, installation and performance; salient themes animating her practice include memory, loss and resilience. Abboud's group exhibitions include; Disorientation, House of World Cultures, Berlin (2003); Fleeing Away from What Bothers You Mostly, Magasin 3, Stockholm (2007); the 9th Lyon Biennial (2007); Palestine 1948, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam (2008); Women Artists, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Algiers (2008); Cactus Juice, Maison des Metallos, Paris (2008); Scenes du Sud II – Mediterranee Orientale, Museum of Contemporary Art - Carré d'Art, Nimes (2008); Never Part - Histories of Palestine, Bozar, Brussels; the 53rd Venice Biennial (2009); the 11th Istanbul Biennial (2009). Workshops and artist-in-residence participation include Window unto Venus organised by Zerynthia Association for Contemporary Art, Rome (1999); Guestatelier Aarau, Switzerland (2002); Liminal Spaces workshop, Ramallah, Qalandiya and Jerusalem (2006); Cove Park, Scotland (2006); Artists Initiative Tokyo (2005 & 2008).
