Will you share rage with me? at Big Ramp Gallery

EXHIBITION DATES: April 13 – May 11, 2024

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, April 13th 5-8pm

GALLERY HOURS: Saturdays 2-4pm or by appointment

Will you share rage with me? literally and figuratively explores what it is like to live in multiple places at once. Yaqeen Yamani’s recent body of work was designed for her final MFA thesis at Temple University. Featuring the piece Disclaimers Prevent me from showing work here installed at Temple Contemporary April 10-13th, the rest of her pieces will be on view at Big Ramp and Information Space from April 13-May 11.

After a fellow student installed a banner at Stella Elkins Gallery celebrating Puerto Rican and Palestinian solidarity in October 2023, Temple University began installing a disclaimer next to the work reading “Artwork on display at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture reflects the viewpoints of the credited artists and not necessarily the viewpoints of the school or Temple University.”

The disclaimer is a poignant reminder to Palestinian and South-West Asian North African (SWANA) artists that cultural institutions have never been neutral or inclusive spaces. Yaqeen’s artwork, Disclaimers Prevent me from showing work here, ironically does “reflect the viewpoints of the university” spotlighting how art spaces weaponize gallery text to control narratives of Black and Brown artists, whose existence can inherently call the institution’s politics into question. For Palestinian artist Yamani, the work responds to and interacts with the presence of disclaimers as a tool for censorship and reflects Yamani’s unwillingness to work in spaces that show no support for Palestinian resistance and freedom. Through the refusal to show the full thesis in Temple Contemporary and leave the allotted space empty, Yamani responds to the failure of art spaces and academic institutions to acknowledge Palestinian voices and leans into spaces of solidarity and support.

Will you share rage with me? also spans Big Ramp Gallery and Information Space, both located at 2024 E. Westmoreland Street, centering a Palestinian narrative across multiple stages. From video to collage and printmaking, the works explore policies and rituals around the construction of identity through examining text and language.

Yamani replicates and alters personal photos of her Yemeni grandfather (who took on his wife’s last name to obtain Palestinian citizenship) and a lanyard given to her at an event, where her address was changed from “Palestine” to “West Bank,” to challenge these outside classifications and reclaim personal identities.

Text-based works comment on language and its connection to the current moment. Gaza and Palestine are always on the mind of the artist and Palestinian community while not everyone can utilize language with context or understanding. Yamani’s series Checking In highlights the microaggressions and performative care normalized via language with the best intentions.

Yaqeen places these misunderstandings in the context of the colonial gaze, highlighting contemporary misunderstandings about the SWANA region as well as the nostalgia and romanticization of tourism photography.

Yaqeen’s work overall explores themes of identity, rage, and grief, reflecting on her experience as a Palestinian who has been living in the US for two years, especially since October 7th, 2023, as her thoughts and many eyes are focused on back home. After being asked the appreciated but sometimes cumbersome question by others “What can we do to support you?” Yaqeen uses the body of work to answer as she invites those around her, regardless of background, to respond and join the justified anger of pro-Palestinian solidarity.

Will you share rage with me? is curated by Batikh Batikh (BB) Founder, Sarah Trad. BB is a pop-up cinema and gallery that centers SWANA women and queer artists.