Landing in Palestine: Skateboarding and the Anti Colonial Image

Quick Overview

Mhamed's book "Landing in Palestine" documents Palestinian skateboarders using their craft as a purposeful escape from Israeli settler-colonial domination, challenging the prevailing victimizing imagery of Palestinians by showcasing their life, joy, and resistance through the act of skateboarding and photography.

Key Points: Mhamed's book 'Landing in Palestine' documents five Palestinian skateboarders using their craft as a 'purposeful escape' from Israeli settler-colonial domination in the occupied West Bank. The title 'Landing' signifies both the act of landing a skateboard trick and the ongoing 'impermanence and struggle to land, to getting our land back, to our connection to this land.' Skateboarding in Palestine acts as a 'spatial critique of explicit and mundane violence,' providing a 'portal' to momentarily escape the occupation and connect with the land. The book includes personal narratives, such as Kilani's illegal crossing into 48 Palestine to see his girlfriend, where he 'had to unlearn himself and act like a different person' due to the occupation's fragmentation. Mhamed, born in Palestine and raised in Michigan, describes his own journey of 'unlearning bits and pieces of my American identity' to become Palestinian American through his reconnection with Palestine and skateboarding. A DIY skate project, building a ramp and rail, was a 'small gesture of creation' and a 'political act built in dedication of the future of Palestinians on skateboards,' fostering community and providing core memories for children. The book's design intentionally includes extensive text and footnotes to provide crucial context about Palestine, ensuring readers understand the narrative without assumptions, and features gatefolds as 'portals' into the skaters' individual worlds.

Context: The event features Mhamed, a Palestinian American photographer and skateboarder, discussing his book "Landing in Palestine," which documents the skateboarding scene in the occupied West Bank. He is joined by Steven Shihi, a professor of Middle East Studies and author of "Camera Palestina," and Tamam Abdhadi, an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. The discussion centers on the intersection of skateboarding, photography, and Palestinian identity under Israeli occupation, exploring how the act of skateboarding can serve as a form of resistance and a means of reclaiming space and narrative.