Palestinian contemporary art: Origin, nationalism and excess

Abstract

This thesis provides a research overview of a submission for PhD by publication. A list of the submitted publications can be found at the end. It demonstrates how these publications have established a relationship between the continuing production of art by Palestinians and the creation of Palestinian national identity through an investigation of ideas of origin in nationalism and the ontology of the work of art. It is argued that ideas of origin in relation to the nation and national identity are characterised by their hollowness, but rather than this undermining the emergence of the nation, this emptiness is what allows the nation to emerge. This generative but problematic blind spot is explored in the specific context of Palestinian art and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the ways in which contemporary Palestinian artists critically address ideas of identity and nationalism at the level of process and form. The research identifies how these processes are developed to extend beyond their specific political and cultural contexts to provide insights into ontological questions of contemporary art. The research further proposes links between ideas of non-human agency in the work of art, Freud’s theory of the Death Drive and Bataille’s ideas of excess, in accounting for the the phenomena that Palestinian art had undergone a Golden Age since the second intifada of 2001, despite the increasing constraints of ongoing political conflict and occupation. The research explored the possibility that it was not only despite these conditions but was, at least in part, because of them. It is argued that the humanist understanding alone, that artistic production is a necessity of spiritual, cultural and political survival, is not sufficient to explain its apparent excess in material loss. Through the use of the Death Drive and Bataille’s accursed share it is shown that a confrontation and exploration of the relationships between art, excess and luxury can provide ways of addressing ontological and ethical questions in the production and dissemination of contemporary art.

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