Closeness to the Land

In 2020, as the pandemic began, Gazala purchased land in western Ohio, where a disused school building sits. The site allows her to explore her complex relationship with 'the land.' As the daughter of displaced indigenous Palestinians, she seeks to form a proxy bond with the earth on ground that was taken from the displaced Shawnee people. Closeness to the Land is a video work comprising hand-painted signs that translate the word الأرض (ard) into six English words, displayed performatively across multiple locations to capture the now-invisible nature of indigenous culture in Ohio. These signs were installed on the old schoolhouse in early 2021.