Naseema Lehree
Cover: Naseema Lehree, Cut My Gaza (2024). Detail. Inside cover spread: Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail.
MEDIATED MEMORY
Naseema
Lehree
Fig 1: Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Detail.
INTRODUCTION
Gaza continues to pay the price for the Hamas-led attack at the Nova Music Festival in the Negev Desert, Israel on 7 October 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage (https://www.defense.gov). The people of Gaza are being bombarded, invaded, starved and assaulted. As of 16 October 2024, 42,409 Palestinians have been killed, including 16,765 children. Over 99,153 have been injured while 10,000 people are missing (Aljazeera.com).
Fig 2: Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail.
Fig 3. Naseema Lehree, Just Scroll (2024). Detail.
BACKGROUND
In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with Jerusalem under United Nations (UN) administration. The Arab world rejected the resolution, arguing that it was inequitable and violated the UN Charter (https://www.un.org/unispal/aboutthe-nakba/). David Ben Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel, declared the State of Israel on 14 May 1948. Rejected by the Palestinian people, it led to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war (Salihu 2024:3). The war resulted in the Nakba1 (Indriasandi & Wargadinata 2023:103). Jewish militias attacked Palestinian villages, forcing thousands of residents to flee. The situation escalated into a full-blown war during 1948, when the British Mandate was concluded and the British forces departed. The newly established Israeli forces launched a major offensive. According to the United Nations, the war permanently displacement more than half of the Palestinian population (https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/).
1 The Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Before the Nakba, Palestine was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. However, the conflict between Arabs and Jews intensified in the 1930s with the increase of Jewish immigration, driven by persecution in Europe, and with the Zionist movement aiming to establish a Jewish state in Palestine (https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/).
In December 1948, the UN General Assembly called for refugee return, property restitution and compensation. However 75 years later, despite countless UN resolutions, the rights of the Palestinian people continue to be denied. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) more than five million Palestine refugees are scattered throughout the Middle East. Palestinians continue to be dispossessed and displaced by Israeli settlements, evictions, land confiscation and home demolitions.
The Nakba anniversary is a reminder, not only of the tragic events of 1948, but of the ongoing injustice suffered by the Palestinians (https://www.un.org/unispal/ nakba75/). The Nakba profoundly impacted the Palestinian people, who lost their homes, their land and their way of life. It remains a deeply traumatic event in their collective memory and continues to shape their struggle for justice and the right to return to their homes (https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/).
Fig 4: Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Installation view.
THE MEDIA
U.S. news coverage is deeply biased towards the lives of Israelis (Youmans 2024).
Reviews of The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times attest to the bias towards Israel. These publications use sensationalist language like ‘slaughter’, ‘horrific’ and ‘massacre’ only as pertains to Israeli casualties. Youmans’s 2024 study found that every Israeli death is mentioned eight times, while every two Palestinian deaths are mentioned only once. As the Palestinian death toll increases, press attention decreases. This is evidenced in Figure 5 below (Johnson & Ali 2024).
Fig 5. The Intercept, Disproportionate Coverage (2024).
Despite the biased view of the war in major newspapers and television channels including the BBC, FOX, NBC and CBS, sympathy towards Palestinians is increasing, especially among younger people (Youmans 2024). This is attributed to information on social media sites Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter where people follow journalists on the ground in Gaza (Johnson & Ali 2024).
In ‘Building Spectatorial Solidarity Against the ‘War on Terror’ Media Military Gaze’ (2022: 369), Osman observes: “For the fortunate who live outside the war zones, ... the experience of war has been primarily a mediated one”. My work focuses on this mediated information concerning the Gaza genocide. It contrasts US media articles with Instagram posts, one of the primary applications used as a news portal (Osman 2022:369). Osman states that “US news-based media represents wars abroad with the state’s securitized gaze and lens while simultaneously censoring frontline and on-the-ground reporting of wars abroad” (2022: 374). This evidences that even social media manipulates the news, removing posts, content and comments deemed unfit for public consumption (Figure 3).
Fig 6. Ines Seidel, Being the News (2016).
INFLUENCES AND RESPONSES
German artist, Ines Seidel focuses on the reading and processing of news. She uses newspapers to create altered realities or mediated stories. Her works inspired me to use the media normally employed to report mediated news (Figure 6).
While Seidel focuses solely on newspapers, I incorporate social media into my work as this is the source of most public information. The posts represented on Just Scroll (Figure 13) are from photojournalists on the ground in Gaza. The newspaper articles are selected from those biased towards the US agenda. The viewer is presented with a condensed form of news via a traditional and Instagram ‘scroll’.
Fig 7. Megan Cope, Flight or Fight #2 (2019).
INFLUENCES AND RESPONSES
Meghan cope is an Australian artist who has worked with keffiyeh scarves (Figure 7) since she travelled to the Middle East as an official war artist. The green keffiyeh forms part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) uniform. A 1941 map of pipelines and oil fields along with hostile bombs cover the surface of the keffiyeh. Cope added the symbol for hostile object / warcraft. The keffiyeh in her artwork is not the foreground but forms its base, foundational to her narrative, becoming a part of the landscape of the map (www.megancope.com).
Cope inspired me to use the keffiyeh not only as a symbol of resistance, but in the background to highlight social media censorship (Figure 8 and 9). While Cope overlays the keffiyeh with symbols from her experience, I have overlaid the different coloured keffiyeh with Instagram symbols indicating removal of posts, content, comments and stories. By editing the language used by Instagram from ‘removed’ to ‘resist’, I have transformed this mode of censorship into a form of resistance.
Fig 8. Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail.
Fig 9. Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail.
COPY THE BLAST
Copy the Blast (Figure 10), is a series of six small acrylic paintings, reminding one that even paintings are mediated by the artist. These photographs are sourced from various photojournalists and websites reporting on the war. Each one was painted, after small details were removed or altered, enhancing their veracity. The slight alterations nevertheless direct the viewer’s observation.
Fig 10. Naseema Lehree, Copy the Blast (2024).
WRAPPED
Symbols of Palestinian resistance are adopted by people worldwide. These include the watermelon, used to represent the Palestinian flag (red, black and green) when it was banned; the olive branch which symbolises peace and resilience; the Handala, a cartoon character of a displaced 10-year-old boy; the keffiyeh and the historic Palestine map (www.aljazeera.com).
In Wrapped (Figures 11 & 12) I use the keffiyeh, a checkered square cotton headscarf. The keffiyeh gained popularity in the 1930s during the revolt against British colonialism. Keffiyeh patterns include olive trees (resilience) and fishnets (the Palestinian connection to the sea and trade routes signifying trade and prosperity).
Fig 11. Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Detail.
Fig 12. Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Page 18-19.
Fig 13. Naseema Lehree, Just Scroll (2024). Details.
CUT MY GAZA
Cut my Gaza (Figure 14) is a map of Gaza with its streets incised by a scalpel. This work is a deviation from a symbol of Palestinian resistance, the historical Palestinian map (Figure 15). The historic map represents the geographical area of Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Israel’s military captured 78% of historical Palestine and the remaining 22% is now divided into the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip (Haddad, Antonopoulos & Ali 2023). Gaza is the focus of intense bombing where devastating infrastructural damage accompanies the loss of human life. This map is a form of preservation of Gaza before its destruction.
Fig 14. Naseema Lehree, Cut my Gaza (2024).
15. Historical Palestine and Palestine today.
Fig
CONCLUSION
In his article entitled ‘The effect of false media on people and its ability to create multiple types of wars in one war’ Ketitni (2023:1) states that “Today the world as a whole is witnessing a war of a special kind, not political, economic, not even religious, but a media war”. Palestine and Israel have been at war since 1948 and yet few people have personally observed this war unfold. In the world today, we rely on media to provide information: information that shapes our beliefs and opinions. When this information is censored to maintain an image or to create mass bias, how can we rely on these sources? Journalists risk their lives in war-torn Gaza to provide first-hand images and narratives. These inconvenient images and texts are frequently expunged to control the narrative. Investigations into newspaper articles from specific US based media outlets and television channels evidence their lack of objectivity, costing them their credibility with younger people worldwide. My artworks confront censorship, biases and mass deception, scrutinising the credibility of journalism. At its core is my hope for fairness and justice, something that may never come about.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Cover: Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 130cm.
Inside covers: Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail. Keffiyeh scarves, black cotton fabric and embroidery cotton, 130 x 130cm.
Page ii Fig 1. Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail. Keffiyeh scarves, black cotton fabric and embroidery cotton, 130 x 130cm.
Page iv Fig 2. Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Detail. Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 130cm.
Page 2 Fig 3. Naseema Lehree, Just Scroll (2024). Detail. Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 373.4cm.
Page 4 Fig 4. Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Detail. Keffiyeh scarves, black cotton fabric and embroidery cotton, 130 x 130cm.
Page 6 Fig 5. The Intercept, Disproportionate Coverage (2024). https://theintercept.com/2024/01/09/newspapers-israel-palestinebias-new-york-times/ (Accessed 2 October 2024)
Page 8 Fig 6. Ines Seidel, Being the News (2016). Altered newspaper. Dimensions unknown.
Page 10 Fig 7. Megan Cope. Flight or Fight #2 (2019). Gifted Keffiyeh, paper map of the Near East and acrylic on linen, mounted on North Stradbroke Island bluegum, 157 x 153 cm.
Page 12 Fig 8. Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Keffiyeh scarves, black cotton fabric and embroidery cotton, 130 x 130cm.
Page 13 Fig 9. Naseema Lehree, Paste Resistance (2024). Keffiyeh scarves, black cotton fabric and embroidery cotton, 130 x 130cm.
Page 14 Fig 10. Naseema Lehree, Copy the Blast (2024). Acrylic paint on 200gsm mixed-media paper, 15.7 x 11.4cm.
Page 16 Fig 11. Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Detail. Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 130cm.
Page 18-19 Fig 12. Naseema Lehree, Wrapped (2024). Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 130cm.
Page 20-21 Fig 13. Naseema Lehree, Just Scroll (2024). Details. Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 373.4cm.
Page 22 Fig 14. Naseema Lehree, Cut My Gaza (2024). Poster paper on Masonite board, 91,4 x 67cm.
Page 24 Fig 15. Historical Palestine to Palestine Today. (https://www.clearias.com/ israel-palestine-conflict/)
Page 30 Fig 16. Naseema Lehree, Just Scroll (2024). Installation view. Digital print on 230gsm True Matte Hi-White paper, 60 x 373.4cm.
Page 32 Fig 17. Naseema Lehree, Copy the Blast (2024). Installation view. Acrylic paint on 200gsm mixed-media paper, 15.7 x 11.4cm.
All photographs taken and reproduced by Naseema Lehree unless otherwise indicated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aljazeera. 2023. Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: live tracker. 18 October. https://www.aljazeera. com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-livetracker (Accessed 16 October 2024).
Arendt, H (ed). 1969. Illuminations. Translated by H Zohn. New York: Schocken Books.
Austin, LJ III, US Secretary of Defense. 2024. Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III on the killing of Yahya Sinwar of Hamas. US Department of Defense 17 October. https://www.defense.gov/ (Accessed 17 October 2024).
Benjamin, W. 1969. Illuminations, edited by H Arendt. Translated by H Zohn. New York: Schocken Books.
Benjamin, W. 1969. The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction, in Illuminations, edited by H Arendt. Translated by H Zohn. New York: Schocken Books: 217-251.
Fahmy, SS, Salama, M & Alsaba, M. 2024. Shattered lives, unbroken stories: journalists’ perspectives from the frontlines of the Israel-Gaza War. Online Media and Global Communication 3(2):151-180.
Glover, M. 2013. Great works: gas chamber by Luc Tuymans. Independent 1 March. https://www. independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works gaschamber-1986-by-luc-tuymans-8515230.html (Accessed 28 July 2024).
Haddad, M, Antonopoulos, K & Ali, M. Symbols of Palestine: what the keffiyeh, the olive branch, Handala and the watermelon represent in terms of Palestinian identity and resistance. Aljazeera 20 November. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/11/20/ palestine-symbols-keffiyeh-olive-branch-watermelon (Accessed 12 October 2024).
Indriasandi, IB & Wargadinata, W. 2023. Palestine-Israel conflict resolution analysis study in the perspective of Islamic History. Jurnal Al-Azhar Indonesia Seri Humaniora 8 (2):102-112.
Inez Seidel. 2024. Transforming the news. https://ines-seidel.de/en/author/ines/page/3/ (Accessed 28 July 2024).
International Crisis Group. 2023. The Gaza War reverberates across the Middle East. 4 November. file://The%20Gaza%20War%20Reverberates%20Across%20the%20Middle%20Ea
st%20_%20Crisis%20Group.pdf (Accessed 29 July 2024).
Johnson, A & Ali, O. 2024. Coverage of Gaza War in New York Times and other major newspapers heavily favours Israel, analysis shows: a quantitative analysis shows major newspapers skewed their coverage toward Israeli narratives in the first six weeks of the assault on Gaza. The Intercept 9 January. https://theintercept.com/2024/01/09/newspapers-israelpalestine-bias-new-york-times/ (Accessed 2 October 2024).
Ketitni, RS. 2023. The effect of false media on people and its ability to create multiple types of wars in one war: Al-Aqsa flood and the false media of Israel and Western countries as an example. Algiers University Press, Algiers.
Megan Cope. 2024. Fight or flight. Australian war memorial series. https://www.megancope.com.au/ works/fight-or-flight-australian-war-memorial-series (Accessed 28 July 2024).
Neal, M. 2023. Photography: an art form. Medium 4 November. https://medium.com/@marcneal/ photography-an-art-form-08594ed4c7a2. (Accessed 2 August 2024).
Osman, W. 2022. Building spectatorial solidarity against the “War on Terror” media-military gaze. International Journal of Middle East Studies 54(2):369-375.
Reuters. 2024.How the world is making Oct 7 attack on Israel, start of the Gaza war. 7 October. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-world-is-marking-oct-7-attack-israelstart-gaza-war-2024-10-07/ (Accessed 12 October 2024).
Salihu, JT. 2024. Historical foundation of the Israel-Palestine conflict. University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381121075_HISTORICAL_FOUNDATION_ OF_THE_ISRAEL-PALESTINE_CONFLICT (Accessed 2 October 2024).
The United Nations. 2024. About the Nakba. https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/ (Accessed 2 October 2024).
The United Nations. 2024. The question of Palestine. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/autoinsert-177019/ (Accessed 2 October 2024).
Youmans, W. 2024. Accounting for the biases in US media coverage of Gaza. Democracy in Exile: the DAWN journal 20 March. https://dawnmena.org/accounting-for-the-biases-in-u-smedia-coverage-of-gaza/ (Accessed 2 October 2024).
BIOGRAPHY
In 2008, Naseema Lehree matriculated from Lincoln Heights Secondary School in Newcastle, KZN, graduating with a BPharm degree from North-West University in 2012. Her background in pharmaceuticals has fuelled many of her previous works. She has used medicines to comment on the covid pandemic and her aunt’s death to cancer. Although medicine was her initial source of inspiration, her current work includes acrylic paintings and digitised images. Pharmacy stimulates her logic while art provides the creative outlet. Naseema Lehrie works in a mother-and-child hospital, so the killing of Palestinian children further motivates her work.
This catalogue accompanies the art exhibition for her Bachelor of Visual Arts Honours year at the Unisa Art Gallery in Pretoria.
Fig 16. Naseema Lehree, Just Scroll (2024). Installation view.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
As a devout Muslim, I have been raised to value peace, respect and humanity because Islam teaches that every life is precious. The genocide in Palestine is a harsh reminder that this view is not universal. I visited Palestine in 2022 and developed a great respect and fondness for the land and its people, who stimulated a protective instinct. The news media paint a very different picture. It is this injustice which provoked me to investigate the topic. I am fortunate to live in a time of social media and photojournalism because “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing” (X 1998). To portray the discrepancies between the media monoliths of the US and on-the-ground journalism, I use methods that alter and subvert digital media. The way in which I tamper with the media makes a statement against those who disseminate false or altered information. My work concerns a side-by-side view from different sources, so it is mediated several times before it reaches you, the viewer. Just as everything is subjective and personal, everything we consume as truth is mediated.
Fig 17. Naseema Lehree, Copy the Blast Series (2024). Installation view.
Naseema Lehree
www.naseemalehree.com
Instagram: nas0lehree
Mobile: 084 589 6567
