Guerilla Melon: Dana Barqawi
The work rethinks the function of the Watermelon symbol within the collective action against colonial hegemony and on the ongoing fight for Palestinian Liberation. Instead of using the Watermelon as a safe/docile/softer/nonconfrontational symbol, this work reverses the censorship of Palestinian symbols & narratives that disrupt the settler colonial project's efforts to erase a deeply political and existential fight against colonialism.
Using a fruit symbol as a tool of conainment risks flattening the radical demands of decolonization; This work chooses to rather engage with the deeply-rooted, political symbols of defiance against erasure, dispossesion, and systematic vioulence.
No freedom fighter will be seen wearing a Watermelon t-shirt.
As challenging colonial oppression requires embracing the collective symbols that the Palestinians themselves have fought to uphold - symbols embedded in collective memory- symbols of defiance, sacrifice, and the unwavering spirit of resistance.
