Gaza to IMA, too broad a point

Paris. Presenting archaeological pieces of Gaza at the Institute of the Arab World (IMA) while dozens of Palestinians are killed each week in the bombings may seem derisory. Father Humbert, who searched Gaza for thirty years (the French biblical and archaeological school of Jerusalem, Ebaf) also told the press, during the inauguration, that this exhibition would seem “Indecent”to some, but that it was necessary. The title, “treasures saved from Gaza, 5,000 years of history”, does not give an index to its content, which goes beyond the framework of a classic archeology exhibition. Jack Lang, president of the IMA, nevertheless claims that it is a“Scientific exhibition”which confirms the Commissioner Élodie Bouffard: we can therefore be surprised that there is no catalog to accompany him.

With these announcements, the visitor nevertheless struggles to identify the words of the exhibition, because the first room presents both part of a private collection, and the history of excavations in the Gaza Strip. However, the exhibited parts do not all come from these excavations, because exceptional documents have been acquired by Jawdat Khoudary, entrepreneur of Gaza passionate about archeology. This collection has a complex history, because several hundred pieces were loaned to the Museum of Art and History in Geneva in 2006-2007 then blocked in Switzerland for administrative reasons. The rest of the collection (nearly 4,000 pieces) was exhibited in Gaza in a small private museum, until Israeli bombings and the occupation of the building destroy the efforts of Jawdat Khoudary. The latter said in the fall of 2024 that he had been able to evacuate part of the collection in Egypt before the bombing, but the rest was destroyed or looted.

Confused mediation

The exhibition recalls this story by room panels posed against the walls, while re-situating the whole in the historical context of the region (map of ancient commercial roads) and in the process of archaeological excavations: but do the exhibits are used to illustrate the archaeological activity in Gaza or is it the opposite? The relationship between objects and room texts is not always easy, especially since several pieces come from another collection, that of the Palestinian authority, intended for a future museum.

The stripping of the scenography does not raise the ambiguity: the objects are presented on gray metal supports on wheels, as in a storage space. Palestinian scenographers Elias and Yousef Anastas assume a “Refusal to theatricalized on display objects”as well as a scenography “Who puts all the parts at the same level”. It is true that the visitors’ gaze embraces the whole without obstacle, and vertical lighting with neon avoids highlighting one object more than another. But we note that some small parts suffer from lighting: this is the case of a pretty bronze statuette of Aphrodite (1st-1st centuries after J.-C.) which remains in the shadows. Greek column capitals, Roman sculpted sets and statuettes of various eras give an overview of a heritage story which covers several millennia, but in an austere atmosphere. Gray as a dominant color establishes an atmosphere closer to that of an airport hall than a museum. If the scenographers say they want to illustrate the fact that the collection“Is in permanent transit” Like part of the Palestinians, the coldness of the materials harms the emotion to the visitor to the works: the beautiful Byzantine mosaic by Dayr al-Balah is thus flattened by lighting …

This impression persists partially in the second room, where the subject is attached to heritage landscapes and the state of conservation of the sites, but the link with the first room is blurred. A series of black and white prints of the EBAF archives surrounded by metallic displays devoted to the main sites excavated in Gaza: photographs make it possible to see the evolution of the sites, because several have been bombed or looted since October 2023. It is therefore the excavation and preservation activity that is highlighted, but the cards displayed in the walls recall the extent of the destruction and temperate the hopeful hope. In this room, no archaeological room, which strengthens the coldness of the presentation. Archaeologist René Elter, co-founder of the “Intiqal” project (transmission In Arabic) explains that they are optimistic in the long term, because the young generations in Palestine are aware of the importance of preserving heritage. A recent work by Riveneuve editions, Gaza, how to transmit heritage, Details the results of the excavations carried out by René Elter and the EBAF, as well as the training programs: restoration of mosaics, surveys of photogrammetry, Palestinian archaeologists will have all the necessary skills. This book acts as a default exhibition catalog, but there again there is ambiguity: the work, very interesting, is not devoted to the collection of Jawdat Khoudary, which deserved a catalog in its own right. The exhibition therefore struggles to find its homogeneity and its remarks, even if it gives a good overview of the richness of the heritage of Gaza thanks to parts rarely exposed.