Review
“If a single work could be chosen as emblematic of the show as a whole, it would probably be the Palestinian artist Fareed Armaly’s From/To–an elaborate multi-media installation that filled several rooms at one of the four main sites, the Documenta-Halle. From/To employs videos, slide projections, static displays, computers and film to document the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip back to 1972. The work is unsettling, and one wishes everyone who has ever passed judgement on the Palestinian cause could view it. It is configured on a ground-plan derived from a digital scan of a single stone which represents both the basic ‘unit’ of the contested land, and the traditional weapon with which the Palestinians defend themselves against Israeli assault rifles. In a similar vein, the ‘prickly pear’ cactus is used as a recurring visual trope since it is claimed, for its metaphorical value, by both sides. For the Israelis the cactus is ‘hard on the outside but soft inside,’ apparently like themselves, and for the Palestinians, the stubbornly resilient plant serves as a reminder of their prior occupation. This installation is moving because of its almost seamless integration of both aesthetic and didactic ambitions and it therefore gives substance to Enwezor’s desire for a new political agenda.”
(Excerpt)