Intricate royal red tapestries sit juxtaposed against walls as white as an asylum; an older man clad in equally white garments lies disconnected from his existence, from the existence of his daughter; he gazes out into nothingness, face pallid, body fatigued; she stares back, eyes wide open, perhaps hopeful, optimistic. The woman behind the optimism: Fatima Abu Roomi. She is also the artist responsible for these inviting paintings, which come together to form the Gordon Gallery's latest exhibit, Venus Palestina.
Tell me a little about your exhibition. What is its narrative?
The narrative is very personal and it is not easy translating my personal story into a collective one. Once the works leave my studio and are exhibited at the Gordon Gallery I like to leave part of the narrative open to the viewer's interpretation and own personal experience. The collective story my paintings tell is one of the woman's place in society as well as the man's role in a complex colonialist system, specifically when it comes to these men dealing with groundbreaking woman.
Can you speak to the title?
I wanted the title to raise questions with the viewer: Why connect Venus with Palestina? Why is Venus a man in some of the paintings? Why, as Venus, does this man have his back to the viewer? Why is Venus' bed empty and can its emptiness give any indications as to the missing body?
What does that royal red color symbolize? Is the crimson alluding to blood or humans in any way?
To me, the color red is an absolute color on both ends of the spectrum – love on one side and pain on the other – with nothing to reconcile the two.
You allude to Byzantine icons in your paintings. Can you speak to these?
I love Byzantine art and am very influenced by it. I think that influence is visible in the ornamental elements in my work. Painting these patterns puts me in a spiritual place that I want to stay connected to.
Any other elements you've pitted against each other in the series?
Yes, many. Old and young, covered and exposed, whole and incomplete, male and female.
It's interesting that you've chosen a female figure of fertility, yet placed your father as the subject in your painting.
It's impossible to completely disconnect the male and make him irrelevant to the concept of fertility, but I am able to turn him into Venus, a female myth that I try to deconstruct in my work. Perhaps through that, I can dismantle the male myth.
Why have you chosen to negate the nudity typically associated with this goddess?
I am questioning what nudity is. A person lacking cloths or a person lacking values?
Your father acts as an "icon of resistance" in Venus Palestina. What is it that he is resisting?
While my criticism is towards men, represented in my paintings by my father, my conversation with him is much greater than that criticism. He simultaneously plays the roles of man, father, and friend.
What sort of personal struggles have affected your father and those of his generation? Do you feel them in your lineage?
My father dealt with many struggles throughout his life, daily survival being one of them. I have a great amount of appreciation for him because of that, and even more so for my mother.
Is the female figure in the painting an autobiographical representation?
The figure is a self-portrait, but I see it as a representation of every woman in the world.
How does the gallery space contribute to the atmosphere of your collection?
Gordon Gallery's large space allows my works to 'breathe' as they can be quite intense when experienced in close proximity in one space. I have so much faith in the gallery and the decisions we've made together in working on this show.
What do you hope viewers to come away with?
I want the viewer to feel what I feel; both the helplessness and confusion alongside my positive view of the world in its entirety, the willingness to work in order to improve women's place in society - a society that includes family, neighborhood, work, and human relationships.
Venus Palestina is on display at the Gordon Gallery (95 Ben Yehuda St, Tel Aviv) until December 9th.