Closeness to the Land
digital video (7:34)
2021
In 2020, the artist Mona Gazala purchased an acre of land in western Ohio, on which sits a disused one-room schoolhouse. This site allowed her to explore her complex relationship with “the land” as the daughter of displaced indigenous Palestinians. Here, she attempts to form a proxy bond with the earth, on ground that was stolen from the displaced indigenous Shawnee people. “Closeness to the Land” is video footage of hand-painted text signs that translate the word الأرض (ard) into six nuanced English synonyms, being displayed performatively in multiple locations to capture the now-invisible nature of indigenous culture in Ohio. These signs were installed on the artist’s Urbana, Ohio schoolhouse in early 2021.
Mona Gazala (she/her) is a Palestinian-American multidisciplinary artist living and working in western Ohio. She is the recipient of numerous grants from the Ohio Arts Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Franklinton Arts District, Puffin Foundation West, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, Decapital, and the Hishmeh Foundation, to undertake creative work centered on community-building, social justice, and activism.
gazalaprojects.com
@monagazala @gazalaprojects
17 Days Video Series 