38/ Scenarios of Breaking Down a Wall

2014
By Zeina Barakeh
Duration: 4:07 min.
Recommended by Kathy Zarur

How does this work investigate “hope?”
”While Zeina Barakeh’s experience as an exiled Palestinian informs her animation, this video references global concerns. Among them is the violence and inequality that has prompted the refugee crisis and militarized government responses. An example is the proposed expansion of the US-Mexico border wall. Barakeh shifts focus from oppressive forces to highlight enduring forms of resistance, reminding viewers of their potential power. Moving beyond the Palestinian context, her video prompts consideration of solidarity, a crucial aspect of the world-wide fight against economic, military, and political forces that serve the 1% at the expense of the 99%.” —Kathy Zarur

About the work:
Scenarios of Breaking Down a Wall depicts absurdist plots around scaling walls, overcoming constraints of the past, transculturalism, migration, economic sanctions, demonstrations, subservience, and media hegemony. They draw upon recent and historical events in the Middle East. The main horse character is a postcolonial hybrid subject forged in the encounter with the British Mandate mounted military. Some architectural elements point to different histories of conflict, such as in Andalusia, Spain. These include La Mezquita—the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba—which still retains its architectural elements from the conquests between Muslims and Christians; as well as, the Synagogue of Córdoba, which was transformed into a hospital after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. Different landscapes are based on deserts, bodies of water, or volcanic grounds to symbolize isolation or the potential eruption of conflict.