Bahia Shehab: A thousand times no

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevoditelj: Matea Srčnik Recezent: SIBELA KESAC

Two years ago, I was invited as an artist

Prije dvije godine, kao umjetnica sam

to participate in an exhibition commemorating

bila pozvana da sudjelujem u izložbi u čast

100 years of Islamic art in Europe.

sto godina islamske umjetnosti u Europi.

The curator had only one condition:

Kustos je imao samo jedan uvjet:

I had to use the Arabic script for my artwork.

u svojemu radu morala sam koristiti arapsko pismo.

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

Kao umjetnica, žena, Arapkinja,

or a human being living in the world in 2010,

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

I only had one thing to say:

imala sam samo jedno za reći.

I wanted to say no.

Htjela sam reći "ne".

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

U arapskom, kako bismo rekli "ne", kažemo

and a thousand times no."

"ne, i tisuću puta ne."

So I decided to look for a thousand different noes.

Tako sam odlučila potražiti tisuću različitih "ne"

on everything ever produced

na svemu ikada stvorenom

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

pod islamskim ili arapskim pokroviteljstvom u posljednjih 1400 godina,

from Spain to the borders of China.

od Španjolske sve do granica Kine.

I collected my findings in a book,

Svoja otkrića okupila sam u knjizi i

placed them chronologically, stating the name,

kronološki ih poredala navodeći ime,

the patron, the medium and the date.

pokrovitelja, medij i datum.

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

Knjiga je stajala na maloj polici pored instalacije

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

koja je bila visoka 7, a široka 3 metra, u njemačkom Münchenu

in September of 2010.

u rujnu 2010. godine.

Now, in January, 2011, the revolution started,

U siječnju 2011. revolucija je započela,

and life stopped for 18 days,

život je stao na 18 dana,

and on the 12th of February,

a 12. veljače

we naively celebrated on the streets of Cairo,

naivno smo slavili na ulicama Kaira,

believing that the revolution had succeeded.

vjerujući da je revolucija uspjela.

Nine months later I found myself spraying messages

Devet mjeseci poslije, bojom u spreju ostavljala sam poruke

in Tahrir Square. The reason for this act

po trgu Tahrir. Razlog tome činu

was this image that I saw in my newsfeed.

bila je ova slika koju sam vidjela na internetu.

I did not feel that I could live in a city

Nisam smatrala da mogu živjeti u gradu

where people were being killed

u kojemu ljude ubijaju i

and thrown like garbage on the street.

bacaju poput smeća na ulicu.

So I took one "no" off a tombstone from

Tako sam uzela jedno "ne" sa nadgrobnog spomenika

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

iz Muzeja islamske umjetnosti u Kairu i dodala mu poruku:

"no to military rule."

"ne militarizmu".

And I started spraying that on the streets in Cairo.

Počela sam to sprejati po ulicama Kaira.

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

No to je vodilo nizu drugih "ne", koji su iz knjige izlazili

like ammunition, and adding messages to them,

poput streljiva i, dodajući im poruke,

and I started spraying them on the walls.

počela sam ih sprejati po zidovima.

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

Neka od ovih "ne" podijelit ću s vama.

No to a new Pharaoh, because whoever comes next

"Ne" novom faraonu, jer tko god sljedeći dođe na vlast

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

treba razumjeti da nama nikada više neće vladati diktator.

No to violence: Ramy Essam came to Tahrir

"Ne" nasilju: Ramy Essam došao je na Tahrir

on the second day of the revolution,

drugi dan revolucije,

and he sat there with this guitar, singing.

sjeo sa svojom gitarom i zapjevao.

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

Mjesec dana nakon što se Mubarak povukao, ovo je dobio kao nagradu.

No to blinding heroes. Ahmed Harara lost his right eye

"Ne" osljepljivanju heroja. Ahmed Harara izgubio je desno oko

on the 28th of January,

28. siječnja,

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

a lijevo je oko izgubio 19. studenoga, ranjen od

by two different snipers.

strane dvaju strijelaca.

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

"Ne" ubijanju, u ovom slučaju "ne" ubijanju pobožnih,

because Sheikh Ahmed Adina Refaat was shot

jer šeik Ahmed Adina Refaat upucan je

on December 16th, during a demonstration,

16. prosinca tijekom prosvjeda,

leaving behind three orphans and a widow.

za sobom ostavljajući tri siročeta i udovicu.

No to burning books. The Institute of Egypt was burned

"Ne" spaljivanju knjiga. Egipatski institut spaljen je

on December 17th, a huge cultural loss.

17. prosinca, što je ogroman kulturalni gubitak.

No to stripping the people,

"Ne" razodijevanju ljudi,

and the blue bra is to remind us of our shame

a plavi je grudnjak tu da nas posrami kao

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

narod jer smo dopustili da ženu u velu razgolite

and beaten on the street, and the footprint reads,

i tuku na ulici, a u otisku stopala piše:

"Long live a peaceful revolution,"

"Živjela mirna revolucija",

because we will never retaliate with violence.

jer nikada se nećemo osvetiti nasiljem.

No to barrier walls. On February 5th,

"Ne" zidovima kao preprekama. 5. veljače,

concrete roadblocks were set up in Cairo

u Kairu su postavljene betonske barikade

to protect the Ministry of Defense from protesters.

kako bi zaštitile Ministarstvo obrane od prosvjednika.

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

Kad smo kod zidova, želim s vama podijeliti priču o

of one wall in Cairo.

jednom zidu u Kairu.

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

Skupina umjetnika odlučila je na zidu naslikati tenk

on a wall. It's one to one.

u prirodnoj veličini. Omjer je 1:1.

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

Ispred ovog tenka je čovjek na biciklu sa

with a breadbasket on his head. To any passerby,

košarom kruha na glavi. Nasumični prolaznik u

there's no problem with this visual.

ovome prikazu ne vidi problem.

After acts of violence, another artist came,

Nakon činova nasilja, drugi je umjetnik došao,

painted blood, protesters being run over by the tank,

naslikao krv, prosvjednike zgažene pod tenkom,

demonstrators, and a message that read,

demonstrante i poruku koja je glasila:

"Starting tomorrow, I wear the new face,

"Od sutra nosim novo lice,

the face of every martyr. I exist."

lice svakog mučenika. Ja postojim."

Authority comes, paints the wall white,

Došla je vlast, obojila zid u bijelo,

leaves the tank and adds a message:

ostavila tenk i dodala poruku:

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

"Vojska i narod, jedna ruka. Egipat za Egipćane."

Another artist comes, paints the head of the military

Dođe zatim drugi umjetnik, naslika čelnika vojske

as a monster eating a maiden in a river of blood

kao čudovište koje proždire djevu u rijeci krvi

in front of the tank.

ispred tenka.

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

Dođe vlast, zid oboji u bijelo, ostavi tenk,

leaves the suit, and throws a bucket of black paint

ostavi uniformu i baci kantu crne boje

just to hide the face of the monster.

kako bi prekrila lice čudovišta.

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

Ja dođem sa svojim šablonama i nasprejam ih na uniformu,

on the tank, and on the whole wall,

na tenk i preko cijeloga zida,

and this is how it stands today

i tako izgleda danas

until further notice. (Laughter)

na neodređeno vrijeme. (Smijeh)

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

Želim vam za kraj ostaviti još jedno "ne".

I found Neruda scribbled on a piece of paper

Našla sam Nerudu našvrljanog na komadu papira

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

u mobilnoj bolnici na Tahriru i odlučila uzeti jedno "ne"

Mamluk Mausoleum in Cairo.

iz mamelučkog mauzoleja u Kairu.

The message reads,

Poruka glasi:

[Arabic]

[arapski]

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

"Možete zgnječiti cvijeće, no ne možete odgoditi proljeće."

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala. (Pljesak)

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Thank you. Shukran. (Applause)

Hvala. Shukran. (Pljesak)