Blown Glass Cyclops Sculpture by Dima Srouji

Blown glass ''Cyclops'' sculpture by Dima Srouji Hand blown glass vessel Dimensions: 15 x 15 x 27cm Material: Blown glass

Dima Srouji is a Palestinian architect and artist working in the expanded context of interdisciplinary research-based projects. Her work explores intersectionalities of art and architecture through historic strata and spatial edges, and questions issues of place. More specifically, her work deals with displaced objects through critical cartography and constructs alternative architectural narratives of the global south. She has lived and practiced in London, New Haven at Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Milan at Cino Zucchi Architetti and Ramallah at the Riwaq Center for Architectural Conservation. Srouji is a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture where she taught as Peter Eisenman’s fellow for two years and more recently held a position as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the American University of Sharjah. She presently serves as a board member on the Yale Arab Alumni Association. The glass blowing industry in Palestine is one of the most beautiful and technically advanced local traditions. The tradition has managed to survive for the last seven centuries; however, due to the fragility of the political context and the fragility of the material itself, the exportation of the products has decreased dramatically in recent years. To revive this tradition the concept of this project is to experiment with more contemporary forms and collaborate with the craftsmen in the area to produce a provocative exhibition. The goal is to highlight the cultural heritage while maintaining the current global standard of product design. 3D softwares and renderings are used to communicate the designs to the craftsmen. In this exchange, the technology crosses the boundary between the ancient techniques of glass blowing used in Palestine and contemporary design. The aim, with crossing these boundaries, looking back to move forward, is to produce objects that will resonate a sense of place while maintaining the ability to act on a regional and global level. This is not a sentimental or nostalgic project; this is an attempt at reactivating the industry and reviving traditional craft while learning the ancient techniques used to draw inspiration from them.