This work acknowledges the trauma of my own grief and is an offering to the Palestinian people as a symbol of shared grief and survival. It was my gateway into recommencing my work as an Artist. It was a central installation in the body of work “Ghostly Fragments and it plays yet again, a part in the Art Exhibition “Gauze”
These paper flowers are precious. They embody my deep grief and loss: loss of my husband and the life we lived and loved together; the loss of my life as an artist (his absence from my artistic journey rendered it futile).
My work was political and issue based – I challenged stereotypes. For a period I worked as Artist in Residence at Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre and worked closely with several groups including the Student Islamic Society.
These newspaper flowers were created post this period (at the beginning of 2010). They were the embryonic beginnings of two installations to highlight the atrocities of Israel’s 23 day invasion of Gaza – “Operation Cast Lead” – between December 2008 and January 2009. They were made out of newspaper to call attention to the mainstream media’s strong bias in favour of Israel.
The flowers, many of which have perished in the intervening years, were produced through workshops that I ran with Lancaster University International woman’s Group and a Young Muslim Girls Community Group. These are the survivors albeit tattered and worn.
The Lilies were to be called “Wreath” and the roses “Roses without Thorns”. The former was to be modelled into a wreath with black ribbons flowing from it, printed with text highlighting atrocities of this invasion. The latter was to symbolise the 353 innocent children who perished (Defence for Children International). The thornless roses were to be labelled with the children’s names.
In April 2010 my husband collapsed and within two weeks was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He was given a prognosis of 6 weeks and a month later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Art and life as I knew it stopped. He lived for 17 months while I am now, following treatment, cancer free.
While there is no comparison between my grief and that of the personal and collective grief being experienced in Gaza it has allowed me to connect with my own trauma and their ongoing tragedy has acted as a wake up call and reactivated my need to explore social, political and justice issues through the medium of art.
I offer therefore this “Precious Flowers” installation as a symbol of shared grief and survival.
“You can cut all the (precious) flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”
Pablo Neruda
Christine Dawson
2024