The sister duo Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail behind Naqsh Collective explore traditional narratives, folklore and motifs through a selection of design-art pieces. Using Palestinian embroidery as a starting point, the Collective offers a permanence to the stories told through this delicate, age-old tradition by deconstructing its basic elements and reinterpreting them using solid, elemental materials — such as marble, wood and brass — that stand the test of time.
Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail, the sisters making up Naqsh Collective, take us through their two studios in Amman and Dubai, discussing their inspiration, their ties to their cultural heritage, and the evolution of their practice.
Literally translated as “to engrave”, the word 'naqsh' calls for a permanent imprint of traditional narratives, techniques, and motifs that the Collective explores through its design-art pieces.
Jameel Prize 5 opening preview, Jameel Arts Centre, 2019
The Hanger Exhibition — 2016
Installation view, Amman Design Week
Thirst for Solidarity — 2017
Exhibition view, Tiraz Centre
Thirst for Solidarity — 2017
Exhibition view, Tiraz Centre
Using as a starting point the traditions of embroidery as a cultural identifying symbol of Palestine, Naqsh Collective translates the delicate, intricately detailed fabrics into works made out of solid, elemental materials, such as marble, stone and brass. The artists’ background in graphic design and architecture provide an ingenious methodological interpretation of heritage and traditional craftsmanship techniques, while the stories these embroideries tell are offered a permanence, a preservation of cultural narratives for generations to come.
“Nisreen and I have never been to Palestine — we were both born and raised in Jordan — yet, we have this very strong connection to the place and wanted to know more about ourselves and our ancestors. It was a journey of self-exploration”
Left: Nisreen and Nermeen's mother in a traditional Palestinian dress
Right: The artists' aunt embroidering her own dress
As a quest for identity and self-discovery, Nisreen and Nermeen returned to childhood memories of the women in their family making dresses for themselves, decorating them with traditional Palestinian embroidery.
“As we dug deeper into our Palestinian heritage… we found that there is so much more to know about [embroidery] than what’s visible on the surface. It’s much deeper than just geometric shapes; embroidery has many hidden meanings.”
Traditional Palestinian embroidery is known for its repeated cross-stitch units and influenced by the flora and fauna of the region. Over time it has become a manifestation of identity for Palestinian women.
Labour of Love: New Approaches to Palestinian Embroidery
Dar el Nimer Centre or Arts and Culture, 2019
Palestinian women embroidering garments
The artists discovered that women, sewing their own clothes, developed their own visual vocabularies through embroidered motifs. With personal touches and anecdotal elements, embroidery became a form of storytelling and a reflection on both collective and individual female identity.
Left: Book covers from Naqsh Collective's research on Palestinian embroidery
Right: Map identifying the motifs specific to different regions and examples of
traditionally embroidered dresses
Diving deeper in their research, Naqsh Collective found that different patterns are specific to different regions.
Over time, the influences on the embroidery makers developed into individual styles, defined by distinct geographical locations.
Jerusalem women wore broadcloth jackets made of felt or wool embroidered with a couching stitch over their dresses.
Traditional dresses from the Hebron (left) and Lydda-Ramleh (righ) regions.
In Ramallah, a horse-shoe headpiece called the ‘smadeh’ complemented the dresses worn. The smadeh was embroidered in cross-stitch and covered with a veil. A chin-chain was usually suspended from each side of the smadeh with an ornamental coin hanging beneath the chin.
Over time, the influences on the embroidery makers developed into individual styles, defined by distinct geographical locations.
The artists deconstruct the cross-stitch motifs into singular ‘units’ or ‘wihdeh’ in Arabic (which also means unity) as a starting point for their works, exploring them as individual elements.
Naqsh Collective translates the regionally-specific motifs — some of which are Cypress trees from Ramallah while others are tall palms from Beersheba — into vectors, amassing a digital library over time.
Since 2005, Naqsh’s digital library has come to include 200 motifs, with an aim of growing the library and making it publicly available in the future.
The resulting works incorporate these units in different capacities — in some, the unit itself takes on a central role, while in others, the unit is part of a larger landscape and a bigger work.
Top: Amulets, 2015, showcases the unit as the focal point of the work
Bottom: In Existence, 2015, the unit is repeated to create a scene
with mountains, a boat, seagulls, and waves
The resulting works incorporate these units in different capacities — in some, the unit itself takes on a central role, while in others, the unit is part of a larger landscape and a bigger work.
The artists introduce new material to these age-old traditions — such as industrial marble, wood, and brass — through delicately hand and fine machine finished techniques.
This process results in modern interpretations of traditional folklore and generational narratives through artworks that preserve this heritage for generations to come.
This process results in modern interpretations of traditional folklore and generational narratives through artworks that preserve this heritage for generations to come.
Using different pattern blocks inspired by the plant and animal life of Palestine and the region, the works reinterpret objects from nature into abstract wall pieces made of marble with brass inlay.
Wihdeh — 2006
Exhibition view, Al Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art
Moon Feather, Wihdeh Collection — 2015
White industrial marble with brass
75 x 75 cm
USD 8,500
Palm Trees 2, Wihdeh Collection — 2015
White industrial marble with brass
75 x 75 cm
USD 8,500
Wall Runner is inspired by the Palestinian embroidery table runners used as ornaments, with motifs from the surrounding region's flora and fauna, engraved in solid walnut and inlaid with brass.
Wall Runner — 2019
Solid walnut wood with brass
225 x 195 cm
Price Upon Request
Wall Runner — 2019
Solid walnut wood with brass
225 x 195 cm
Price Upon Request
These works are inspired by the designs embroidered on the traditional dresses of women emigrating from Palestine to Egypt and Damascus, narrating their stories and shedding light on issues of migration, diaspora, and integration.
The Shawl — 2015
Exhibition view, Dubai Design Days
Heavy Road to Damascus — 2020
Stone with brass
180 x 60 cm
USD 20,000
Heavy Road to Egypt — 2020
Stone with brass
180 x 60 cm
USD 20,000
Combining visual inspiration from the long-contested port city of Acre (Akka), traditional embroidery, and natural marble and brass, the work presents a snapshot of a city that has long resisted invasions, including famous attempts by King David and Napoleon.
Photograph inspiration for Akka
Nisreen in front of Akka
Akka (detail) — 2019
Natural stone marble with brass
250 x 250 cm
Akka — 2019
Natural stone marble with brass
250 x 250 cm
Price Upon Request
Wa Mashat — 2020
Industrial marble with brass
200 x 370 cm
Price Upon Request
Wihdeh Wa Shatat - Unit and Diaspora — 2018
Installation view
Wihdeh Wa Shatat - Unit and Diaspora — 2018
Stone with brass
180 pieces, dimensions variable
Wihdeh Wa Shatat - Unit and Diaspora — 2018
Stone with brass
180 pieces, dimensions variable
Wihdeh Wa Shatat - Unit and Diaspora — 2018
Stone with brass
180 pieces, dimensions variable
This work is a three-dimensional installation composed of 180 uniquely designed sundials mapping the concentrations of the Palestinian diaspora globally. The dials, made of fragile limestone, easily chipped when moved around, are metaphors for the emigrant population. The uniquely designed brass gnomon is engraved with different motifs and casts different shadows onto the stone base as the sun changes positions over the course of the day.
Wihdeh Wa Shatat - Unit and Diaspora — 2018
Stone with brass
180 pieces, dimensions variable
Price on Request
Founded in 2009 in Amman, Jordan, Naqsh is the joint endeavor of two sisters, Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail. The duo tap into their rich heritage and afford it new meaning, standing at a crossroads between age-old designs from the region and clean, contemporary aesthetic, positioning art, architecture and heritage in a minimalistic frame.
The sisters practice is informed by their respective backgrounds in architecture and graphic design. With a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and as a practicing architect, Nisreen’s exploration of art and design has been heavily influenced by her roots in architecture. Prior to co-founding the Collective, Nermeen was working in the field of graphic design and branding, two elements which she continues to use today, fusing them with her understanding of her cultural heritage in her artistic practice.
Naqsh Collective has participated in several national and international exhibitions, including at the Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai (2019); Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2019); Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Sharjah (2016); and Al Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem (2015). The Collective has also been shortlisted as a finalist for the Jameel Prize 5 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
Gazelli Art House is a commercial gallery with a wide range of international artists, presenting a broad and dynamic programme to a diverse audience through global public projects and exhibition spaces in London and Baku. Gazelli Art House was founded in 2003 in Baku, Azerbaijan where it held exhibitions with Azeri artists. Having hosted conceptually interlinked off-site exhibitions across London, founder and director Mila Askarova opened a permanent space on Dover Street, London in March 2012. In 2017, the redesigned gallery space reopened in Baku, with an ambitious annual program showcasing both local and international artists.
Representing artists Aziz+Cucher, Derek Boshier, Stanley Casselman, Francesco Jodice, Recycle Group, Kalliopi Lemos, and Niyaz Najafov among others, the gallery has built a diverse programme of artists working across sculpture, photography, painting, video, performance and virtual reality. As part of the gallery’s on-going commitment to art education, the gallery publishes catalogues and artist books, alongside its programme of Tuesday Talks to address ideas within the exhibitions and encourage a deeper dialogue around them.
Images are courtesy of Gazelli Art House and the artists.
39 Dover Street
London, W1S 4NN
United Kingdom
T. +44 207 491 8816
W. www.gazelliarthouse.com
Left to right: Nisreen at her workshop in Amman; Nermeen at her studio in Dubai
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