Dalia Al-Haj Qasem
Mahfoza Oude hugging her olive tree.
Embroidery thread on cotton, 2023
This embroidery piece is a recreation of the famous photograph of Mahfoza Oude crying as she hugs one of her olive trees in the West Bank village of Salem, after Israeli settlers chopped down dozens of trees in the area. The land cries and we cry, because we are deeply rooted in the land like the olive trees that we raised from mere seeds. I used modern embroidery techniques to recreate this iconic image which symbolises the Palestinian connection to land. We stitch to resist, to record memories and as an outlet for grief. Whilst this image is not a happy one, the process of stitching it was cathartic.
The artist, Dalia Al-Haj Qasem, runs Sitti Threads and says:
Sitti Threads is a Sydney-based social enterprise on a mission to preserve, teach and celebrate Palestinian heritage, culture and identity through the art of embroidery. With a fusion of traditional Palestinian tatreez and modern embroidery, we bring you a range of unique embroidered products that share a common thread of Palestine.
As the Zionist Project continues its attempts to erase Palestinian culture and identity, Sitti Threads stands firm in asserting the rich history of Palestinian embroidery that has origins dating back to the eleventh century CE. Sitti Threads celebrates this history and embraces traditional and modern embroidery techniques to create contemporary products celebrating Palestine.
It is our belief that learning the art and history of tatreez and wearing tatreez is, in and of itself, a statement of resistance. Our social enterprise encourages Palestinians and non-Palestinians alike to resist against the erasure of Palestinian identity by learning and celebrating a centuries-old art-form, tatreez.
The word sitti means grandmother in Arabic. At Sitti Threads, we pay homage to the Palestinian grandmothers who have passed down the art of tatreez from one generation to the next.
For me, my grandmother is a huge inspiration in my passion for embroidery. She passed away on 1 January 2023, Allah yerhamha. Despite her old age and persistent hand tremor, my grandmother would continue to celebrate her Palestinian heritage every day by handcrafting some of the most beautiful embroidery pieces.
Sitti Threads is for my own Sitto and all Palestinian grandmothers and mothers who share with them a piece of Palestine every day.
Dalia Al-Haj Qasem is a lawyer and Palestinian tatreez artist living on Darug land, Sydney. She is the founder of Sitti Threads, a social enterprise focused on preserving, teaching and celebrating Palestinian heritage and culture through the centuries old embroidery art form, tatreez. At a young age, Dalia learnt tatreez from her grandmother who passionately reinforced the importance of practicing Palestinian traditions. Dalia embodies her grandmother’s vision to keep tatreez alive for all current and future generations.
