Chair / Semester: Holtrop / FS23
Location: Jaba / Palestine
The Story Behind the Picture:
«In Jaba, a historic village between Jerusalem and Ramallah, the Twam family lives together with 30 family members in an imposing house. Two rooms of their home serve as the glass blowing work- shop where three generations of the family are working side by side, sharing 40 years of experience. The air is filled with gas from the torch, the light is faint and the space is tight – even tighter with 6 students from ETH glimpsing over the shoulders of the craftsmen.
To deal with Palestinian crafts means to deal with the Israeli-Pa- lestinian conflict and the tragedy which it brought to this place and to the people here. We saw the soldiers and the arms on our way here, we heard stories which seemed so bizarre and incomprehen- sible to us and we saw a landscape strongly shaped by this conflict. The impressions were overwhelming. Yet it was incredibly inspiring to meet the welcoming and generous Twam family and I’m so gra- teful for this opportunity, for learning and for being aware.»
