qais assali

Monument 

Collaboration w/ Jose Luis Benavides

In this installation and video work Palestinian artist Qais Assali and Latinx artist Jose Luis Benavides search for Santa Anna's missing leg. The Mexican general Santa Anna not only lost his wooden leg to U.S. forces during the American invasion and occupation of Mexico in the Mexico-American War, but he also lost half of Mexico's territories to the U.S. at the end of that war in 1848. Sharing in the trauma of Mexico's stolen lands in 1848 and the 1948 Nakba in Palestine, the two artists film their strange journey to Springfield, IL (USA) where a military museum keeps guard of Santa Anna's wooden leg in its odd fortress as a macabre trophy of U.S. global imperialism. 

Monument was commissioned for The Lasting Effect, curated by Reem Fadda, Qalandiya International, ‘Solidarity’ 2018. Monument also took part of 'On Collaboration & Solidarity' (Jun 25-26th, 2020), a conversation with lifelong human rights South African activist Albie Sachs and independent curator Reem Fadda, hosted by Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research in Bethlehem, Palestine. Funded in part by The City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Texas, USA  |  Link