Wafa Hourani (Palestine), born in Hebron in 1979, studied at the Ecole d’Art et de Cinéma of Tunis (1998-2001). His practice encompasses elements of film-making, photography, architecture and graphic design. In works such as Photolife (2006), Wafa playfully investigates the epistemological possibilities offered by the photographic medium, and the nature of the mimetic relationship between art and reality. In his Future City series, Wafa revisits the utopian genre to produce architectural models of major cities 50 years from now, including sociological, environmental and behavioural parameters in his subjective and emotional forecasting model.
The artist has since made two further versions—Qalandia 2067 (2008) and Qalandia 2087 (2009)—all three being major installation works recreating in miniature the Palestinian refugee camp Qalandia one hundred years after significant dates in Palestinian history: 1947 the date of the establishment of the State of Israel, 1967 the occupation after the Arab-Israeli Six Day War, and 1987 the first Intifada. Qalandia is notorious as the site of the checkpoint dividing Ramallah and Jerusalem.
Hourani’s work has been shown in the Istanbul Biennial (2009), Disorientation II, Abu Dhabi (2009), Saatchi Gallery, London (2008), and the Thessaloniki Biennial (2007). Hourani currently lives and works in Ramallah.
Wafa Hourani was a recipient of the 2007 Delfina Foundation’s Riwaq Biennale Resident Artist Award, resulting from the collaboration between the Delfina Foundation and the A.M. Qattan Foundation. The Riwaq Biennale took place in Ramallah, Palestine.
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