VIDÉOCARTOGRAPHIES: AÏDA, PALESTINE

In ’Vidéocartographies: Aïda, Palestine’ Roeskens asks several inhabitants of the Palestinian refugee camp Aïda to draw him a map. The camera records the inverse of these scribbles, showing the marks of the black pen through the white paper. Men, women and children mark out buildings, identify the homes of family or friends, or the site of a shooting or another event. Routes are marked – obstacles, checkpoints, barbed wire. Slowly, these rough marks form a readable text depicting communities, ways of living, ways of surviving. Past, present and future are inscribed onto the paper, the dynamics of growth and change, both sudden and slow. Personal stories unfold, revealing the resilience, strength and adaptability of the invisible people behind the voices.