Archives & AI (Video Design & Photography)

"So much of the work of oppression is policing the imagination" - Saidiya Hartman

This project utilizes Palestinian archives and AI and is an attempt to reclaim our own narratives. The project is broken down into three parts: Envisioning the Future, An Alternative Present, and Picturing the Past. 
Using AI & Archives to Envision the Future​​​​​​​

AI Prompt: The front of Al-Aqsa Mosque filled with hundreds of watermelons (representing the Palestinian lives lost there)

Imagined Futures: A Finally Free Palestine (Video)

Footage credits in order of appearance:
@olaaaly (The Green Land), huzmejunior, @visitpal, @wizard_bisan1, @motaz_azaiza, @byplestia, @malak_hasan, @rahmazein

Using AI & Archives to Envision an Alternative Present​​​​​​​

Archive: Five Palestinian women taking a photograph in front of Al-Aqsa mosque. Jerusalem, Palestine, 1970's. 

AI-Generated: Four women reunite in front of Al-Aqsa mosque many years later in remembrance of their friend. 

Archive: Two Palestinian women are shown making point lace while seated outdoors on a balcony with the Old City Jerusalem in the background. Jerusalem, Palestine, 1930

AI-Generated: The two women's granddaughters honoring their legacy and sewing on the same balcony many years later. 

Archive: Photograph by Palestinian journalist Mohamed Al-Masri of Palestinian children sleeping in a wet tent after being displaced. Gaza, 2024

AI-Generated: Palestinian children sleeping in a field of poppy flowers after playing all day on the streets of Gaza. 

Archive: Bombs dropping in Gaza taken by Palestinian journalist Motaz Aziza. Gaza, Palestine, 2023

AI-Generated: Fireworks celebrating Palestine's Independence Day from the same location. Gaza, Palestine. 

Using AI & Archives to Envision the Past
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