Stoned.

In the Holy Land, the artist witnessed the role of stones as a weapon of both protest and aggression. At a West Bank checkpoint, Israeli soldiers in the tower fixed their automatic rifles on a few Palestinian student protesters who could only carry stones. Years later, the artist was hit in the face with a stone thrown by a pubescent boy in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem. In the hands of protesters, the stone was a symbol of being on the margin of an oppressive geopolitical state, a symbol of protest, courage and dignity. In the hand of the boy, it was a symbol of the centre of aggression... but perhaps he also carried it in protest, courage, and dignity.

 

These stones prompt us to consider: What stones do I carry? What stones have I thrown? What stones have been thrown at me?

 

Visitors to the exhibition were invited to take a stone from the basket and carry it with them through the exhibition. They were also encouraged to leave it in a place of significance.