Curatorial Statement

On days where all eyes should be on Palestine, we would like to offer a closer look and ask: What is it about this land? What does one dream from here? and what can we do to make these dreams reality?

In the face of a constant stream of images of Palestinian death, Adam Rouhana brought Palestinian life to the forefront in the very centre of London with his debut solo exhibition Before Freedom. Before Freedom Pt. 2: The Revolution Cannot be Built on Dreams Alone, continues to reveal this often unseen side of Palestine, while digging deeper into Adam’s rich body of work to explore an additional layer of dimensionality— the duality of life in occupied Palestine. During these days of genocide, as we are asked to continue life normally while massacres take place on a daily basis only a few kilometres away, this duality has become particularly sharp.

Compromised of predominantly unexhibited works made between 2022-2024, Before Freedom Pt. 2 echoes this duality. In the first space, life under the sun is displayed through works of natural light and harmony. In the second room the shadows are observed— images are inscribed with uncertainty and the constancy of being forced to wait day and night for an unknown fate.

Upon entering the gallery, five fingers ask the visitor to stop, perhaps hiding something, perhaps covering a truth. Five fingers that resonate with the “khamseh” (meaning five in Arabic), a symbol of protection our mothers use when something beautiful appears and they want to protect us from the eye of evil.

Moving through to the main space, primary figures are prominently placed, embodying life’s universals. The characters are embraced by the powerful energy of nature in Palestine, suggesting a tender visit to heaven. This first impression represents in some sense, the way we would’ve wanted to see things, hoping that they stay, while instead they are violently erased piece by piece before our eyes. Teenagers jump into the sea, women lovingly embrace, boys tussle in a field of khoubazi (mallow), together carrying the memories of the history of our shared land.

While the first space gathers the fragments of light in life under occupation, the second space delves into its shadows. This setting is encompassed by works representing different modes of resistance: patience, action, and rebellion.

The shifting dynamics between the inhabitants of the primary space and those in the secondary gallery add an additional dimension to the duality explored in Rouhana’s work. As the characters in one domain are moving towards something, maybe Allah (God), as if praying, embraced by earth—the others remain in a state of forced anticipation, clinging to memories, stuck in time, without a clear path forward.

In Palestine, life shifts suddenly from a heavenly atmosphere in our homeland to violent oppressive moments of a hellish nature. Confusion ensues: should we act or should we continue to wait? The shadows hold rare moments captured by Adam’s flash, while he is trying to answer: what exists where no one is looking? How do witnessing these moments shift our perceptions of reality?

Before Freedom Pt. 2 explores the tensions inherent in the current moment in Palestine—when disparate realities occur, one next to the other; a fractured state of existence that is being maintained by a colonial force. Vivid scenes of the evolving bond between the human and his land are disrupted by a cruel foreign entity, forcibly replacing natural life with an imposed ethno-religious ideology. But truths rebel and reveal themselves between the lines of light and shadow, making space for dreams.

The Revolution Cannot be Built on Dreams Alone, although dreaming is one of its main conditions. Our dreams are based on what we see and what we know of the world around us. This exhibition offers images seen through Palestinian eyes, inviting the visitor to dream and act differently. The camera in Adam’s hands reveals the bond between the Palestinian and his homeland. By catching the essence of light, space and movement viewers can feel the moments captured continuing beyond the frame.