Yasmeen Al Daya

Emmanuelle Firman

Venue

Museum of Contemporary Art of Lyon (macLyon)

Lyon

Born in 2001 in Gaza, Palestine
Lives and works in Gaza, Palestine

Small enough to be held in one hand, Embrace gives monumental weight to a simple gesture. Yasmeen Al Daya created the tiny sculpture amid the humanitarian crisis and destruction in Gaza, following the strikes and military operations carried out by the State of Israel after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023. She modelled it in clay using a metal spoon, folding the body tightly into itself. Curled into a foetal position, the figure could be protecting itself, mourning another or withdrawing into a state from which life might begin again. Its rough surface retains the pressure of the hands that shaped it. The sculpture shown here is a replica. It was produced by Petrit Halilaj in close collaboration with Al Daya, who proposed that the work be remade by a local artist for the Gaza Biennale in Berlin.

Through a practice that combines sculpture, drawing, and painting, Yasmeen Al Daya’s work is shaped by themes of absence, the vulnerability of bodies, death, and war. Working primarily with clay, the artist adapts her practice to the constant threat of displacement.