Cremisan Herbarium

Cremisan Herbarium is a project produced and presented during the Sounds of Places artistic residency in Bethlehem, Palestine, in 2024. Created in collaboration with Nisreen Tahhan (Al Ma’Mal), Sireen Alawi, Areej Ashhab (Al-Block), and Majdi Hadid (IPrint), this work presents images of plants collected from the Cremisan Valley, chosen for their connection to the land and their resonance with themes of resilience. The edition, blending the aesthetics of a notebook and a passport, was distributed during a walk led by Al Block, followed by a biophotography workshop where participants documented their walk through the valley using notes, images, and sounds.The Sounds of Places residency emphasizes sonic aesthetics and explores the relationship between the land, memory, and identity. During the guided walks, participants interacted with the landscape through plant collecting and cyanotype workshops, using UV light to photograph their findings and mark their trace by direct contact with paper. This process invited participants to connect to the physical environment through presence and movement, while also reflecting on issues of belonging and memory through image and sound.The project also highlights the resilience and symbolism of the members of its ecosystem. The dried cactus, a rare surviving plant from the violent passages of Israeli settlers in Palestinian villages. The lichen, abundant, a rare organism capable of surviving in the most arid environments, even growing on the ashes of other dead plants. The zaatar, a central herb in Palestinian cuisine, whose gathering has been prohibited by Israeli occupation laws since 1977. These plants, presented as monumental but fragile architectural monuments due to their dependence on the rest of the ecosystem, embody the feelings of resilience and solidarity that populate Palestinian society. Cremisan Herbarium seeks to allow the living to speak in its own terms, emphasizing its autonomy and central role in shaping cultural and identity narratives.