Bahia Shehab: A thousand times no

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevodilac: Milica Petrovic Lektor: Tatjana Jevdjic

Two years ago, I was invited as an artist

Pre dve godine, bila sam pozvana da kao umetnik

to participate in an exhibition commemorating

učestvujem u izložbi obeležavanja

100 years of Islamic art in Europe.

100 godina islamske umetnosti u Evropi.

The curator had only one condition:

Kustos je imao samo jedan uslov:

I had to use the Arabic script for my artwork.

trebalo je da koristim arapski tekst za moj rad.

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

Kao umetnik, kao žena, kao Arapkinja

or a human being living in the world in 2010,

ili kao ljudsko biće koje živi u ovom svetu 2010.,

I only had one thing to say:

htela sam da kažem samo jednu stvar:

I wanted to say no.

želela sam da kažem "ne".

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

A na arapskom, reći "ne", znači reći "ne,

and a thousand times no."

i hiljadu puta ne".

So I decided to look for a thousand different noes.

Zato sam rešila da potražim hiljade drugih načina da kažem "ne",

on everything ever produced

svemu ikad stvorenom

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

pod islamskim ili arapskim patronatom u poslednjih 1 400 godina,

from Spain to the borders of China.

od Španije pa do Kine.

I collected my findings in a book,

Sakupila sam svoje zaključke u knjigu,

placed them chronologically, stating the name,

postavila ih hronološki, navodeći ime,

the patron, the medium and the date.

pokrovitelja, posrednika i datum.

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

Knjiga je stajala na maloj polici pored postavke

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

dimenzija tri puta sedam metara, u Minhenu, u Nemačkoj,

in September of 2010.

septembra 2010.

Now, in January, 2011, the revolution started,

Sada, u januaru 2011., revolucija je počela

and life stopped for 18 days,

i život je stao na 18 dana,

and on the 12th of February,

a 12. februara,

we naively celebrated on the streets of Cairo,

smo naivno slavili na ulicama Kaira,

believing that the revolution had succeeded.

verujući da je revolucija uspela.

Nine months later I found myself spraying messages

Devet meseci kasnije sam ispisivala poruke

in Tahrir Square. The reason for this act

na Tahrir trgu. Razlog za ovakav akt

was this image that I saw in my newsfeed.

je ova slika koju sam videla u svojim vestima.

I did not feel that I could live in a city

Nisam osećala da mogu da živim u gradu

where people were being killed

u kom su ljudi ubijani

and thrown like garbage on the street.

i bacani kao đubre na ulicu.

So I took one "no" off a tombstone from

Zato sam uzela jedno "ne" sa spomenika

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

iz Islamskog muzeja u Kairu i dodala poruku:

"no to military rule."

"Ne vladavini vojske".

And I started spraying that on the streets in Cairo.

Počela sam da to ispisujem na ulicama Kaira.

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

Ali to je vodilo seriji drugih "ne", koji su izlazili iz knjige

like ammunition, and adding messages to them,

kao municija, dodavala sam im poruke

and I started spraying them on the walls.

i počela da ih ispisujem po zidovima.

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

Zato ću podeliti neke od ovih "ne" sa vama.

No to a new Pharaoh, because whoever comes next

Ne novom faraonu, jer ko god da dođe sledeći

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

treba da razume da nikad više nećemo biti pod vlašću diktatora.

No to violence: Ramy Essam came to Tahrir

Ne nasilju: Rami Esam je došao u Tahrir

on the second day of the revolution,

drugog dana revolucije

and he sat there with this guitar, singing.

i sedeo je tu sa svojom gitarom, pevajući.

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

Mesec dana pošto je Mubarak podneo ostavku, ovo je bila njegova nagrada.

No to blinding heroes. Ahmed Harara lost his right eye

Ne oslepljivanju heroja. Ahmed Harara je izgubio desno oko

on the 28th of January,

28. januara,

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

a levo oko 19. novembra,

by two different snipers.

od strane 2 različta snajpera.

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

Ne ubijanju, u ovom slučaju "ne" ubijanju religioznih ljudi,

because Sheikh Ahmed Adina Refaat was shot

jer je šeik Ahmed Adina Refaat ubijen

on December 16th, during a demonstration,

16. decembra, tokom demonstracije,

leaving behind three orphans and a widow.

ostavljajući za sobom 3 siročeta i udovicu.

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, što je ogroman kulturni gubitak.

No to stripping the people,

Ne svlačenju ljudi,

and the blue bra is to remind us of our shame

plavi brushalter treba da nas podseti na sramotu

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

nas kao nacije kada dozvoljavamo da žena pokrivena velom bude skinuta

and beaten on the street, and the footprint reads,

i prebijena na sred ulice, ostaje nam poruka

"Long live a peaceful revolution,"

"Živela mirna revolucija",

because we will never retaliate with violence.

jer se nikada nećemo suprotstaviti nasiljem.

No to barrier walls. On February 5th,

Ne barikadama od zidova. 5. februara,

concrete roadblocks were set up in Cairo

betonske barikade su postavljene u Kairu

to protect the Ministry of Defense from protesters.

da zaštite Ministarstvo odbrane od protestanata.

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

Govoreći o zidovima, želim da podelim sa vama priču

of one wall in Cairo.

o jednom zidu u Kairu.

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

Grupa umetnika je odlučila da nacrta tenk u prirodnoj veličini

on a wall. It's one to one.

na zidu. Razmera jedan prema jedan.

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

Ispred tenka je čovek na biciklu

with a breadbasket on his head. To any passerby,

sa korpom za hleb na glavi. Slučajnom prolazniku,

there's no problem with this visual.

nije ništa čudno kod ove slike.

After acts of violence, another artist came,

Nakon akata nasilja, drugi umetnik je došao,

painted blood, protesters being run over by the tank,

nacrtao krv, protestante koje je pregazio tenk,

demonstrators, and a message that read,

demonstrante i poruku na kojoj piše:

"Starting tomorrow, I wear the new face,

"Od sutra, imam novo lice,

the face of every martyr. I exist."

lice svakog mučenika. Ja postojim."

Authority comes, paints the wall white,

Vlasti su došle, prefarbale zid u belo,

leaves the tank and adds a message:

ostavile tenk i dodale poruku:

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

"Vojska i narod, ruku pod ruku. Egipat Egipćanima."

Another artist comes, paints the head of the military

Drugi umetnik je došao, nacrtao komandanta vojske

as a monster eating a maiden in a river of blood

kao čudoviste koje jede devojku u reci krvi

in front of the tank.

ispred tenka.

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

Vlasti su došle, prefarbale zid u belo, ostavile tenk,

leaves the suit, and throws a bucket of black paint

ostavile boju i bacile kantu crne boje

just to hide the face of the monster.

čisto da prekriju lice čudovista.

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

Zato sam ja došla sa svojim šablonima i utisnula ih na tu boju,

on the tank, and on the whole wall,

na tenk i na ceo zid,

and this is how it stands today

pa danas to izgleda ovako,

until further notice. (Laughter)

do daljnjeg. (Smeh)

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

Želela bih da vam ostavim i poslednje "ne".

I found Neruda scribbled on a piece of paper

Našla sam Nerudu skiciranog na parčetu papira

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

u bolnici u Tahriru i rešila da uzmem "ne" iz

Mamluk Mausoleum in Cairo.

Mamluk Mauzoleja u Kairu.

The message reads,

Poruka glasi,

[Arabic]

[Arapski]

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

"Možete da slomite cveće, ali ne možete da odložite proleće."

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala vam. (Aplauz)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you. Shukran. (Applause)

Hvala vam. Shukran. (Aplauz)