Bahia Shehab: A thousand times no

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Rusmir Gadžo Reviewer: Lejla Burkic

Two years ago, I was invited as an artist

Prije otprilike dvije godine dobila sam poziv

to participate in an exhibition commemorating

da kao umjetnica učestvujem u obilježavanju

100 years of Islamic art in Europe.

100-te godišnjice islamske umjetnosti u Evropi.

The curator had only one condition:

Kustos je postavio jedan jedini uslov:

I had to use the Arabic script for my artwork.

Moja su djela morala biti izražena arapskim pismom.

Now, as an artist, a woman, an Arab,

Kao umjetnica, žena, Arapkinja,

or a human being living in the world in 2010,

ili jednostavno ljudsko biće koje živi u ovom svijetu, u 2010. godini,

I only had one thing to say:

htjela sa sam reći samo jednu stvar:

I wanted to say no.

htjela sam reći "Ne!"

And in Arabic, to say "no," we say "no,

Mi kad na arapskom kažemo "ne", mi kažemo "ne"

and a thousand times no."

i onda hiljadu puta "ne!"

So I decided to look for a thousand different noes.

Stoga sam odlučila da potražim hiljadu drugih načina za negaciju

on everything ever produced

u svemu što je ikada napravljeno

under Islamic or Arab patronage in the past 1,400 years,

pod islamskom ili arapskom vlašću, u posljednjih 1400 godina,

from Spain to the borders of China.

preko Španije, do granice sa Kinom.

I collected my findings in a book,

Prikupila sam sva što sam pronašla u jednu knjigu

placed them chronologically, stating the name,

poredala hronooški, navodeći ime,

the patron, the medium and the date.

vladara, sredinu i datum.

Now, the book sat on a small shelf next to the installation,

Ta je knjiga stavljena na malu policu, odmah do

which stood three by seven meters, in Munich, Germany,

instalacije dimenzija tri sa sedam metara, koju sam izložila u Minhenu, u Njemačkoj,

in September of 2010.

u septembru 2010. godine.

Now, in January, 2011, the revolution started,

U januaru 2011. godine počela je revolucija,

and life stopped for 18 days,

život je stao na 18 dana,

and on the 12th of February,

a 12. februara smo, onako naivno,

we naively celebrated on the streets of Cairo,

slavili na ulicama Kaira,

believing that the revolution had succeeded.

vjerujući da je revolucija bila uspješna.

Nine months later I found myself spraying messages

Devet mjeseci potom, ponovo sam crtala poruke

in Tahrir Square. The reason for this act

na Trgu Tahrir. Razlog za taj čin

was this image that I saw in my newsfeed.

bila je slika koju sam ugledala na mom profilu.

I did not feel that I could live in a city

Nisam sigurna da bih mogla živjeti u gradu

where people were being killed

u kome ubijaju ljude

and thrown like garbage on the street.

i bacaju ih na ulicu, poput vreća sa otpadom.

So I took one "no" off a tombstone from

Tako sam preslikala jedno "Ne!" sa nadgrobnog spomenika

the Islamic Museum in Cairo, and I added a message to it:

iz Islamskog muzeja u Kairu i na njega dodala:

"no to military rule."

"Ne! vojnoj vlasti!"

And I started spraying that on the streets in Cairo.

Onda sam tu istu poruku ispisivala ulicama Kaira.

But that led to a series of no, coming out of the book

Međutim, ta je poruka rezultirala mnogim drugim "Ne!", koje sam nalazila u knjizi,

like ammunition, and adding messages to them,

izbacivala sam ih poput metaka, dodajući im poruke,

and I started spraying them on the walls.

a onda sam ih počela pisati i na zidovima.

So I'll be sharing some of these noes with you.

Neke od tih "Ne!" ću podijeliti i ovdje, sa vama.

No to a new Pharaoh, because whoever comes next

Ne! novom faraonu, jer onaj koji dođe poslije njega

should understand that we will never be ruled by another dictator.

mora da shvati da nikad nećemo dozvoliti da nad nama ponovo vlada diktator.

No to violence: Ramy Essam came to Tahrir

Ne! nasilju: Ramy Essam je došao na Tahrir

on the second day of the revolution,

drugog dana revolucije

and he sat there with this guitar, singing.

sjeo je na Trg sa gitarom u rukama i pjevao.

One month after Mubarak stepped down, this was his reward.

Mjesec dana nakon što je Mubarak odstupio s vlasti, to je bila njegova nagrada.

No to blinding heroes. Ahmed Harara lost his right eye

Ne! oslijepljenim herojima. Ahmedu Harari je snajper

on the 28th of January,

28. januara 2011. godine odnio desno,

and he lost his left eye on the 19th of November,

a 19. novembra 2011. godine i lijevo oko.

by two different snipers.

Dva različita snajpera su bila.

No to killing, in this case no to killing men of religion,

Ne! ubistvima...ovaj put ubistvima ljudi od vjere,

because Sheikh Ahmed Adina Refaat was shot

jer je šejh Ahmed Adina Refaat ubijen

on December 16th, during a demonstration,

16. decembra 2011. godine, tokom demonstracija,

leaving behind three orphans and a widow.

a iza njega su ostali žena i troje djece - siročadi.

No to burning books. The Institute of Egypt was burned

Ne! spaljivanju knjiga. Egipatski institut je spaljen

on December 17th, a huge cultural loss.

17. decembra 2011. godine, što je veliki gubitak za kulturu.

No to stripping the people,

Ne! nasilnom razodijevanju ljudi, a plavi grudnjak služi

and the blue bra is to remind us of our shame

da nas podsjeti na našu sramotu kao nacije,

as a nation when we allow a veiled woman to be stripped

što smo dozvolili da skinu pokrivenu ženu

and beaten on the street, and the footprint reads,

i pretuku je na sred ulice, a u napomeni piše:

"Long live a peaceful revolution,"

"Neka živi mirna revolucija,"

because we will never retaliate with violence.

jer na nasilje nikad nećemo odgovoriti odmazdom.

No to barrier walls. On February 5th,

Ne! barijerama. Betonski su blokovi

concrete roadblocks were set up in Cairo

5. februara postavljeni u Kairu

to protect the Ministry of Defense from protesters.

kako bi zaštitili Ministarstvo odbrane od demonstranata.

Now, speaking of walls, I want to share with you the story

Kad smo već kod zidova, htjela bih s vama da

of one wall in Cairo.

podijelim priču o jednom zidu u Kairu.

A group of artists decided to paint a life-size tank

Grupa umjetnika je odlučila da na zidu nacrta pravi tenk

on a wall. It's one to one.

u omjeru "jedan naprema jedan".

In front of this tank there's a man on a bicycle

Ispred tenka je nacrtan čovjek na biciklu,

with a breadbasket on his head. To any passerby,

noseći korpu za hljeb na glavi. Slučajnom prolazniku

there's no problem with this visual.

ova se scena ne bi činila neobičnom.

After acts of violence, another artist came,

Nakon što je počelo nasilje, došao je jedan umjetnik

painted blood, protesters being run over by the tank,

dodao lokve krvi i demonstrante pregažene tenkom,

demonstrators, and a message that read,

uz to i poruku koja glasi:

"Starting tomorrow, I wear the new face,

"Od sutra ću nositi novo lice,

the face of every martyr. I exist."

lice svakog od šehida. Ja postojim."

Authority comes, paints the wall white,

Vlasti su potom obojile zid u bijelo,

leaves the tank and adds a message:

ali su ostavile tenk i napisale novu poruku:

"Army and people, one hand. Egypt for Egyptians."

"Vojska i narod su jedno. Egipat Egipćanima."

Another artist comes, paints the head of the military

Potom je došao još jedan umjetnik i nacrtao komandanta vojske

as a monster eating a maiden in a river of blood

u liku čudovišta koje jede mladu djevu u rijeci krvi,

in front of the tank.

odmah ispred tenka.

Authority comes, paints the wall white, leaves the tank,

Vlasti ponovo oboje zid u bijelo, ostavivši tenk

leaves the suit, and throws a bucket of black paint

čak i odijelo, ali su lice čudovišta zalili

just to hide the face of the monster.

crnom bojom, kako ga prolaznici ne bi prepoznali.

So I come with my stencils, and I spray them on the suit,

Onda vam dođem ja sa mojim šablonima, iscrtam ih po odijelu

on the tank, and on the whole wall,

po tenku, po cijelom zidu

and this is how it stands today

i tako stoje i dan danas,

until further notice. (Laughter)

do daljnjeg.

Now, I want to leave you with a final no.

Konačno, hoću da vas upoznam i sa posljednjim "Ne!"

I found Neruda scribbled on a piece of paper

Naišla sam na citat iz Nerudinog djela napisan na

in a field hospital in Tahrir, and I decided to take a no of

komadu papira, na Trgu Tahrir i odlučila preslikati

Mamluk Mausoleum in Cairo.

Ne! sa Memlučkog mauzoleja u Kairu.

The message reads,

Poruka je slijedeća:

[Arabic]

(arapski)

"You can crush the flowers, but you can't delay spring."

"Možeš pogaziti cvijeće, ali ne možeš odgoditi proljeće."

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(aplauz)

Thank you. Shukran. (Applause)

Hvala vam. Hvala (arapski).