Hand-by-Hand
Lara Salous
26 April - 17 May 2025
Exhibition’s finissage on May 17 at 4–6pm with the artist Lara Salous. Welcome!
Näyttelyn päättäjäiset lauantaina 17.5. klo 16–18 taiteilijan ollessa läsnä. Tervetuloa!
سيختتم المعرض بتاريخ 17.05 ما بين الساعة 4 حتى الساعة 6 مساء بحضور الفنانة لارا السلعوس، اهلا وسهلا.
ENG
Ramallah-based Palestinian artist and designer Lara Salous tells the story of a land constantly repaired by the careful threading of relations between generations, knowledges, and with the territory. Palestine appears in Salous’ work as layered with life, culture passed over hand-by-hand, and a proud companionship with the land and its environment. Hand-by-Hand presents Lara Salous’ research of wool-spinning traditions in Palestine, born from her close collaboration with Bedouin shepherd communities.
The exhibition narrates the cultural, social and environmental labour performed to fight the dispossession, erasure and segregation perpetrated by the State of Israel against the land and its livelihoods. The artworks portray sediments of histories, movements, and repetitions. This is the stubbornness of self-determination against the genocidal cartography imposed by colonial power. Salous’ work supports the preservation of Ramallah’s brilliant design traditions, following the movement of people and pastures along routes that are systemically militarised and bulldozed, and exchanging knowledge with elderly women weavers.
Hand-by-Hand includes Lara Salous’ two award-winning artworks ‘What Remains’ and ‘Around their hands’ (Contextile Biennale 2024), and a series of new artworks focusing on resistant geographies, women’s artistry and archival material. Her work reimagines pastoral and weaving traditions through intergenerational learning, mutual aid, and design innovation.
Lara Salous is an award-winning architect, interior designer, and artist passionate about reviving wool in Palestinian interiors. Her interest began with a visit to a traditional Bedouin community known for wool rug weaving, sparking her curiosity about the decline of this craft. Lara’s self-driven research aims to reconnect wool with contemporary life. She holds a degree in architectural engineering from Birzeit University and a master’s in interior design from the University of Westminster, blending academic work with practice-based research and participating in international art exhibitions. The exhibition and residency are part of a collaboration between Titanik and HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, with the support of Sumud – The Finnish Palestine Network.
Artist: Lara Salous
Curation and production: Micol Curatolo
Technical production: Jari Kärkkäinen
Finnish translation: Saara Avola
Arabic translation: Lara Salous, Mohammad Khlouf
Special thanks: Sumud – The Finnish Palestine Network, HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, NO NIIN Magazine, Saskia Suominen, Emma Beverley, Anastasia (A) Alevtin, Lotta Anttila, Minjee Hwang Kim, Rose Pietola, Elham Rahmati, Elli Nora Sayyad, Leyya Mona Tawil, Eero Yli-Vakkuri.
Artist talk for #StopHatredNow 2025.
Photo credits: Johanna Naukkarinen. Photo credits: Johanna Naukkarinen Photo credits: Johanna Naukkarinen. Photo credits: Johanna Naukkarinen
Ramallah-based Palestinian artist and designer Lara Salous tells the story of a land constantly repaired by the careful threading of relations between generations, knowledges, and with the territory. Palestine appears in Salous’ work as layered with life, culture passed over hand-by-hand, and a proud companionship with the land and its environment. Hand-by-Hand presents Lara Salous’ research of wool-spinning traditions in Palestine, born from her close collaboration with Bedouin shepherd communities.
The exhibition narrates the cultural, social and environmental labour performed to fight the dispossession, erasure and segregation perpetrated by the State of Israel against the land and its livelihoods. The artworks portray sediments of histories, movements, and repetitions. This is the stubbornness of self-determination against the genocidal cartography imposed by colonial power. Salous’ work supports the preservation of Ramallah’s brilliant design traditions, following the movement of people and pastures along routes that are systemically militarised and bulldozed, and exchanging knowledge with elderly women weavers.
Hand-by-Hand includes Lara Salous’ two award-winning artworks ‘What Remains’ and ‘Around their hands’ (Contextile Biennale 2024), and a series of new artworks focusing on resistant geographies, women’s artistry and archival material. Her work reimagines pastoral and weaving traditions through intergenerational learning, mutual aid, and design innovation.
Lara Salous is an award-winning architect, interior designer, and artist passionate about reviving wool in Palestinian interiors. Her interest began with a visit to a traditional Bedouin community known for wool rug weaving, sparking her curiosity about the decline of this craft. Lara’s self-driven research aims to reconnect wool with contemporary life. She holds a degree in architectural engineering from Birzeit University and a master’s in interior design from the University of Westminster, blending academic work with practice-based research and participating in international art exhibitions. The exhibition and residency are part of a collaboration between Titanik and HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, with the support of Sumud – The Finnish Palestine Network.
Artist: Lara Salous
Curation and production: Micol Curatolo
Technical production: Jari Kärkkäinen
Finnish translation: Saara Avola
Arabic translation: Lara Salous, Mohammad Khlouf
Special thanks: Sumud – The Finnish Palestine Network, HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, NO NIIN Magazine, Saskia Suominen, Emma Beverley, Anastasia (A) Alevtin, Lotta Anttila, Minjee Hwang Kim, Rose Pietola, Elham Rahmati, Elli Nora Sayyad, Leyya Mona Tawil, Eero Yli-Vakkuri.