Tag: Emily Jacir

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Emily Jacir at the Sydney Biennale

Emily pictured with choreographer Andrea De Siena during rehearsals

In a previous post early last November (https://www.johnmcrae.com/emily-jacir-selected-for-the-25th-biennale-of-sydney/), I mentioned how my friend Emily Jacir had been selected among the international artists to exhibit at the 2026 Sydney Biennale by Artistic Director Hoor Al Qasimi, who is also the president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation in the United Arab Emirates. Titled “Rememory,” this edition of the Sydney Biennale focuses on themes of history, memory and belonging.

The recently re-opened “Entertainment Hall” of the White Bay Power Station where the walls are covered with the flaking paint of murals painted in a “by-gone” time, when the hall was privy to the social interactions of the many workers at the power station.

Alongside her moving video/sound installation featured at White Bay Power Station, Emily, together with dancers and three Italian artists (Andrea De Siena, Walter Laureti, & Valeria Taccone), workshopped an amazing performance entitled “The Belly Cries and the Dogs Laugh”. This piece was choreographed and presented in the space of the Entertainment Hall, a wonderful building attached to the former Power Station in Rozelle, a space that was re-opened for this explicit purpose, for the first time since being decommissioned in 1984.

I was privileged to photograph and document the development and staging of this amazing artistic expression (see above for some images of the rehearsal/workshop process). The following images were taken during the final presentation, which took place in Sydney over four performances in mid-March during the first weekend of the Biennale.

All in all, it was an emotional, inspirational event. It ended with most of the audience on their feet, dancing together with Emily and the other performers. It was fascinating for me to see the development and rhythmic process that is involved in creating such a performance, from the heart-felt choreography of Andrea De Siena, to the exceptional sound track devised by Walter Laureti, together with the haunting vocals of Valeria Taccone.

The cast of “The Belly Cries and the Dogs Laugh” performed at the Sydney Biennale, 2026
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Emily Jacir – selected for the 25th Biennale of Sydney

I’m very excited at the recent announcement that my artist friend Emily Jacir will be part of the 25th Biennale of Sydney (March 14 – June 14, 2026).

See link here: Emily Jacir at the Biennale of Sydney

I am happy for Emily that she is getting such high profile exposure in Australia, with a work incorporating film, installation and performance at the former White Bay Power Station (not far from my studio). I’m equally happy that this means Emily will be traveling to Sydney and I will get to catch up with her once she arrives. It has been several years since our last meeting in Rome.

Jacir is a multidisciplinary artist whose primary interest lies in transformation, resistance and silenced historical narratives. She works in a variety of media including film, photography, installation, performance, video, writing, and sound. She draws on the artistic medium of concept art and social intervention as a framework for her pieces, in which she focuses on themes of displacement, exile, and Palestinian culture, primarily within the context of resilience and resistance.

Emily’s list of awards and honours, including winning “The Golden Lion” at the 2007 Venice Biennale, is too long to mention….but look up a brief biography and summary here: Emily Jacir

I am also happy to see that the portrait she chose to promote her inclusion in Sydney’s Biennale was a photo I captured in Rome. It was taken in 2016 in Trastevere, Rome. Emily loved the streets around her apartment so we shot a number of frames along those narrow, cobblestoned, historical carriageways, as well as a few images in her apartment and on the terrace.

I look forward to seeing Emily when she arrives in early 2026.

Emily on the roof terrace of her apartment with the colours of Trastevere in the background.
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Portraits in Rome: Emily Jacir

Emily Jacir, Rome, 2016

While visiting Rome in 2016, I had the opportunity to photograph acclaimed Palestinian artist and film maker Emily Jacir during an intimate and memorable portrait session. Known for her poignant and politically charged works, Jacir’s practice explores themes of displacement, resistance, memory, and the Palestinian experience, often weaving personal narratives with broader socio-political commentary.

One of Emily’s works is currently being exhibited as part of HOME 25: Invisible Cities, a roving exhibition presented across multiple venues throughout central Dandenong in Victoria. The show explores how the idea of “home” shapes our sense of identity, belonging, and dislocation—a theme that resonates deeply with Jacir’s body of work. It’s a pleasure to see a portrait from our photo session in Rome also being used by Greater Dandenong for their exhibition.

Jacir has exhibited internationally, with major works shown at the Venice Biennale (where she won a Golden Lion in 2007), the Whitney Museum, and MoMA in New York. Her work crosses media—film, photography, installation, and performance—always rooted in a strong conceptual framework and a commitment to storytelling.

She is also the Co-founder and Founding Director of Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research in Bethlehem, Palestine—a vibrant and independent cultural centre housed in her family home. The space fosters exchange, experimentation, and critical dialogue among artists, researchers, and the local community.

Emily Jacir, Trastevere, 2016 – captured in one of her favourite streets

Working with Emily was an absolute pleasure. We began the shoot in the intimate interior of her Roman lodgings, where soft natural light filtered through the windows and created a quiet, thoughtful mood. From there, we moved to the rooftop terrace, where I captured Emily framed by the romantic skyline of Rome—its domes and terracotta roofs stretching into the distance. We finished in the cobbled streets of Trastevere, one of Rome’s most lively quarters. Emily led me to a narrow laneway she particularly loved, and it became one of the most memorable backdrops of our photo session. It was such a delight to collaborate with Emily in the creation of this imagery—she brought warmth, depth, and grace to every frame.

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“Not So Long As the Night” – Emily Jacir exhibits in Turin

My portrait of Emily Jacir, taken in one of her favorite streets in Rome, 2016

My friend, the Palestinian artist, Emily Jacir has a solo show at her Turin gallery, Galleria Peola Simondi, Italy (until 14 October, 2021). The photo based works, film and texts are her response to the ongoing conflict between the Israeli state and the Palestinian people in and around her ancestral home and artist’s studio in Bethlehem. Jacir’s house is 200 metres from the “Apartheid Wall”, the imposing security barrier which was supposedly designed to protect the Jewish Israeli population but instead serves to isolate and and antagonise Palestinian communities. As Jacir states in the text by Francesca Comisso, “the wall does not separate us from Israel, it separates us from ourselves”.

Emily photographed in Rome, 2016

I have photographed Emily several times over the years and one of these images was used by La Repubblica newspaper in the review of her current show at Galleria Peola Simondi.