A Qatar Foundation (QF) graduate has used various patterns of embroidery from different regions in Palestine, each with its own history and meaning, to create unique musical notes through her project, titled 'The Sound of Thread.'
Ever longing for her roots, al-Majdobah, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) – a QF partner, embarked on an honours thesis project that allows people to hear the art of Palestinian embroidery as we see it. “I wanted to use my passion towards my country to create something special for my honours project. I wanted to tell the world about the beauty of Palestine, about its rich history and culture that is not emphasised enough in the media. When people hear Palestine, they immediately think of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and thoughts turn to news stories about war and the struggle. What is often lost in this narrative are the unique crafts, aesthetic beauty and deep traditions that create the culture of Palestine,” said al- Majdobah.Al-Majdobah noted that when she joined a class called Sonic Explorations, to study sound composition and how to put it together, along with her passion for the Palestinian traditional thobes, she decided to dive into the history of Palestinian embroidery. Her father helped me connect with many women from Palestine and Jordan, and interview them about the origins of each pattern and what it reflects culturally.“Then I developed a library of patterns, composed by redrawing embroidery stitch by stitch into the Ableton Live application which I discovered during my class. The application transforms visual patterns into audio files played on a loop several times with slight changes to the instrument combination using automated cycles. Due to their unique shapes, each pattern was able to be distinguished from others by subtle differences, giving it its unique melody and impression,” she, explained.
Al-Majdobah also wrote a book under the same name of her project where she gathered all the information she collected from books she read and interviews she conducted with women who are passing the craft of embroidery through generations, and she linked each pattern to its hometown in Palestine explaining their historical and cultural backgrounds.“With everything nowadays being colonised and getting appropriated, through my project I aspire and look to preserve Palestinian culture. I also want to educate our generation. This craft used to get passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, and because of technology and social media, people are not keen on learning as before. So, I hope this project can help keep it alive,” she pointed out.Al-Majdobah expanded her project after her honours. She learned the craft herself and hopes to pass it on to her children and grandchildren. She is now currently translating the book which she hopes, will become a reference about Palestinian embroidery.“I wanted to create something tangible that people can keep, and be able to relate it to sound, because the patches of patterns are very nice when you look at them, but there's a sound behind them that no one knows. And I believe bringing sound and sight together creates an interesting experience that carries thousands of untold tales about the history of Palestine,” she added.