Objects of Khiam
- AboutObjects of Khiam, 2008
Part 4 of Khiam project
Photography prints, 30 x 30 cm, series of 52 photographs Until South Lebanon was freed from Israeli occupation in May 2000, it was impossible to enter the Khiam detention camp, situated in an area occupied by the Israeli military and its proxy Lebanese militia, the South Lebanon Army. Though much was heard about what happened in the camp, no image of it was ever seen. - Other Installations
In 2000, after the liberation of Khiam, Hadjithomas and Joreige met with and interviewed many of the camp’s former prisoners. During the interviews, the artists learned that many of the former prisoners, none of which were artists prior to their detention, had secretly made art and utilitarian objects in order to resist the camp’s harsh conditions and maintain their humanity. Following their release, most of the prisoners never made art again, although they considered that the act of making art saved them.
Interested in exploring the role of art and the power of image in the face of dehumanisation, Hadjithomas and Joreige produced this photo series, which documents some of the former prisoners’ art objects– made from discarded pieces of thread and wood, carved from soap, woven and embroidered. Through the traces still visible and embodied in these abandoned objects, Objects of Khiam aims to depict the soul of a place devoid of images.
