D’abord les fraises, puis les fleurs

ASMA BARCHICHE AND MINA SQUALLI-HOUSSAÏNI FOR FORDE

FORDE is proud to present d’abord les fraises, puis les fleurs, a collective exhibition featuring works by Taysir Batniji, Reema Nubani, Firas Shehadeh, Dima Srouji, and Vladimir Tamari. There is an order to things, but not always the one we expect. The title of this exhibition—d’abord les fraises, puis les fleurs—inverts a line from Mariam Tamari’s poem Birthday (see page 76). It suggests that dispossession can be reversed, a shift from the constant threat of dispossession to the promise of renewal—from the soil to the flowers, min al-mayeh lil-mayeh من المياه للمياه.