It Is (Promised And) Written
This project began as an exploration of what is known in English as the "Balfour Declaration" and in Arabic as the "Wa'ed Balfour" or the "Balfour Promise." The document was typed and signed by Arthur Balfour, a British politician in 1917. It declared British support for the creation of Israel in Palestine.
I became interested in the physical and political creation of this document, in its implications and especially in the difference between the Arabic “promise” and the English “declaration.” What was lost or gained in that translation?
I asked people to submit their broken promises; promises they broke to others or others broke to them. I met people of all ages, religions, classes, ethnicities who shared their broken promises -- some personal, others political; some trivial, others tragic.
For this installation, at Makan House in Amman, Jordan, I retyped many of these promises, in part because some people wanted to conceal their handwriting. It was a labored process; I learned to type Arabic through these broken promises.