Abwab Qadeema (Old Doors)

Old doors, wooden frames, iron rods

What fascinated me most about the village were the simple geometric houses, and the grape vines that fringed the entrance doors. What was even more peculiar, was that even though there were no outer wall boundaries around the houses, often there would be a lone-standing door, suggesting a path into the premises. These doors were like absurd portals symbolizing a ceremonial entrance and exit, the notion of which is well knitted into the traditions of these hospitable people.

During my stay I was captivated by the old houses that stood like poetic relics frozen in time. The closed doors in these ruins, for me, stood silently as a testimonial to their ongoing sentence of abandonment. For my project, I removed these old doors and installed them with functional frames in an alleyway. On the open day, the visitors interacted with this installation; the old doors were once again walked though after ages.