40Mustaqel challenges conventional views on time and ownership in art. The studio collaborated with the A.M. Qattan Foundation in 2022 to produce a book for the exhibition Palestine From Above. This project confronts colonial narratives surrounding Palestine, particularly those rooted in aerial surveillance technologies. A grid system was developed to reflect the top-down perspective of the colonizers. The book transforms traditional roles by turning page numbers into coordinates, positioning the reader as a researcher. By drawing on Islamic manuscript aesthetics, the studio aims to enrich contemporary understanding with historical context.
Plots of white spaces are emptied and text is scattered. Page numbers take the role of coordinates, and the reader takes on the role of the researcher.
In search of the ancient, we seek to preserve for the contemporary. These archives are rich - a quote from French ethnologist Marcel Giuaule reads, 'The aerial photograph is a talking map,' and 40Mustaqel is shouting.
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