West Bank Butterfly – Kite Project

Overview

At Sharjah Biennial 9 Nida Sinnokrot presented West Bank Butterfly – Kite Project. The work comprises three small wall-hung pieces that form a poignant chain of references. Pinned into a frame is an Apharitis Cilissa butterfly, an endangered species indigenous to the west bank of Palestine that can be recognised for the distinctive patterns on its wings.

Sinnokrot identifies a formal resemblance between the shape and markings of the butterfly’s wings and a map of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This resemblance is visualised in the second component of the installation – a map of the West Bank and Gaza Strip presented in the form of a butterfly. The third component, commissioned for and produced in part by Sharjah Biennial, transforms the motif even further. Sinnokrot presents a silk and okume wood kite that takes its shape from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Sinnokrot is an Artist whose films, installations and sculptures often explore the complex realities of conflict and diaspora. West Bank Butterfly – Kite Project brings together powerful symbols of the West Bank conflict to create an installation that resonates with the struggle between freedom and oppression. The plight of the endangered butterfly and its chance resemblance to a settlement map in its natural habit becomes succinctly illustrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 9