Hala Al-Naji

Born in 1988

Displaced in…

Nazeh’s Lexicon: The Language of Displacement is a journey through the linguistic landscape invented in response to displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. It presents a collection of terms, expressions, and colloquial slang that reflect daily life during the displacement journey, deeply rooted in the collective culture. Each phrase, rich in meaning, describes a specific condition or story, securing its place in our shared memory. These expressions are not merely words but also vessels of history, carrying shared pain, resilience, and hope.

The exhibition narrates the stories behind these terms through the character Nazeh, who engages in a series of expressive acts infused with meaning and everyday culture. Nazeh moves through the city’s spaces and landscapes, relying on three symbolic elements to endure the unknown journey of displacement: a strong rope, an olive branch, and his own hands.

At the heart of the exhibition is an interactive map that revisits the concept of displacement. It evokes living narratives etched into a fire-scorched wooden floor, tracing paths of life and death, hope and sorrow. Each thread weaves a narrative, and every story stands as a testament to history.

Hala Alnaji is an architect, an artist, and a PhD researcher at the University of Westminster in London. She holds a master’s degree in architecture and two years of advanced research in decolonizing architecture from the Royal Institute of Arts in Stockholm. Hala concluded her curatorial studies at the Curator Lab of Konstfack University-Stockholm. As a curator, Hala spearheaded the curation of the Decolonizing Arts and Counter-speculations exhibition, which took place in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Jurors Committee for the Palestinian Cultural Fund Grants, organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture in Ramallah, Palestine. Hala’s professional experience extends across various NGOs and higher education institutions worldwide. She has worked as a researcher with Fargfabriken in Stockholm, as a visiting researcher at the University of Palestine in Gaza, and as a lecturer at the University of Brighton, in the United Kingdom. As a dedicated researcher, Hala has presented and published numerous articles and research papers at conferences throughout Europe and the Middle East. Her first book, Scatterers in the Shadow, was published in 2022.