< The Mask We Inherit >

This photographic series explores inherited identity, cultural memory, and the emotional responsibility of preserving Palestinian heritage across displacement. Photographed within the Islamic Art Gallery at the National Museum of Korea, the work emerged from an unexpected sense of familiarity, as Islamic architectural forms created a visual connection to home within a foreign environment.

Wearing a traditional Palestinian thobe and henna patterns, the artist uses performance and gesture to explore identity as something continuously negotiated between belonging and distance. An embroidered mask inspired by Palestinian Tatreez appears throughout the series, shifting between being worn, lifted, and held. It represents both the protection of cultural identity and the burden of inheriting the responsibility to preserve it. Red poppy-like flowers placed within the mask evoke remembrance and sacrifice, while stitching an olive-branch pattern becomes an act of cultural continuity. Together, the photographs form a visual narrative of memory, inheritance, and survival.