Majd Abdel Hamid, Muscle Memory III, 2022

single-channel HD video, color
Ed 3 + 2 AP

If the explosion of August 4, 2020 is unrepresentable, it may have given him the legitimacy to develop a new relationship with his adopted city. Majd Abdel Hamid liberates himself by creating his own territory of memory (with diverse mediums and practices) as a continuum of interaction and openness. The artist seeks his form of mourning, and is inspired by a ritual of his ancestors in Palestine: after the loss of a loved one, women would color their dresses a dark color and, with the passage of time and washing, the original color would reappear. Majd Abdel Hamid embroiders his design on three pieces of fabric: a cotton sheet, a pyjama and a towel. The pieces are soaked in indigo dye and scrubbed with soap and a toothbrush until some of the colors reappear. He makes three videos recounting this process of rebirth in a compulsive and continuous gesture. Muscle Memory interpenetrates different experiences (looking, soaking, washing and embroidering), different identities and cultures to build an anti-monument for Beirut, one that is alive, intimate and portable.