Bones and Branches. Digital Print. Sepia.
80 x 60 and 110 x 80 inches
John Halaka © 2015

The Palestinians’ connection to the homeland is not simply a nostalgic obsession with a denied past.  It is a much more complicated and deep-rooted attachment based on regenerative cycles of life, death and renewal, that date back countless generations.  

For most Palestinians, the homeland is not simply something we reside on, own and sell.  The homeland is a physical extension of our ancestor’s bodies and an ancient and generative cultural landscape that shapes our customs and evolving traditions.

The ancient olives that grace the hills and valleys of Palestine are not simply trees that feed us.  Their fruit and oil are extensions of our ancestors’ flesh and blood, a communion of past, present and future generations, bound by the bones and branches of an indigenous people belonging to the land.