R&D 1:

1 week thesis:

One of the longest ongoing conflicts in the middle east is the war between palestine and Israel that I believe we all hope for it to end soon fairly and soon. Therefor I picked West bank wall to start my research and exploration. Not only this wall functions as a barrier between palestinians and Israelis but also prisons Palestinians in their own land. It makes traveling within the cities extremely difficult to the point that many pregnant women hat to deliver their babies behind the closed doors of this wall. We always hear one party inviting the other to talk peace, to find a middle ground for negotiations, how can you illegally prison someone and expect them to talk peace. Not only this wall separates two neighbors from each other but also raises the question of borders. Based on international laws, not only this was not supposed to be build but also it is build inside the palestinian lands.  

Not only this wall as a barrier and border that is raised and build due to a conflict was interesting to me to look into but also this wall has become a canvas for international and national artist, like Blu, Banksy, Mark Jenkins, Sam3,[9] Ron English, Ericailcane, Swoon, and Faile, to communicate their message with everyone else. In the short time that I had to investigate this wall, I realized that everyone talks about hope, a dream a vision that they hope to achieve. Illustration of a girl trying to go over the wall with balloons, a little boy sitting under a long ladder that takes you across the wall, little kids playing through a cracked wall by the beach, pictures of cracked walls and more. All of these messages play along the lines of hope, crossing the wall or seeing what is on the other side. 

As a quick result for a one week thesis I created a wall that helps the two sides of the part communicate. I suggested a wall that has a window that either sides of the party can see one another and know what is on the other side. A wall that children's of each side can at least see one another and realize that they are exactly alike and they are both suffering something that they had no role in. This could symbolically be a window to a brighter future. As of right now, the closed 8 meter long concrete walls do nothing but increase more hatred. This way we can at least start opening windows to this prison.

Response :

Looking into the west bank wall is a solid starting point in researching conflict in the middle east. I have to make sure that I approach this project as a designer rather than a writer or a historian, therefor the glass wall as a design solution is a good place to start as a designer. I mentioned through my presentation that I am missing on the fun part of the project and I was told that, that is entirely up to me to make this project fun. It was wisely pointed out that even though the wall is a very sad place to begin with, but the drawings by the artists is a really fun way to communicate a messages on the wall. Both in terms of execution and the message itself. Furthermore, the effect of dehumanization and separation. How counter dehumanization can bring people closer together. 

I have to make sure that I don't allow my passion to learn more about the politics of the wall turn this project into the research paper or a book report. I should look into the wall as it is and try to learn and discover it without having to dig deep into the politics of palestine. Just focusing on the wall and discovering what is on wither side of it and the artists responses to the wall. The notion of what the wall is, for example the wall being as a divider. 

One other approach could be the study of different walls and the reason behind them and the function of each.

I was also referred to look into the interactive project by Coca Cola in India and pakistan trying to bring them closer to each other. Also to look into artist like Christo and Jeanne Claude that use giant curtains as walls in their art projects and see how their work visually is relevant.

I will be looking into the notion of wall and separation and borders to continue with the research.