Rosalind Nashashibi: Stones
From 29 November 2025, KM21, Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL) presents Stones: the first solo museum exhibition in the Netherlands of the Northern Irish Palestinian artist Rosalind Nashashibi (b. 1973, London, UK). Her work explores collective history, power structures and modes of coexistence. Nashashibi captures everyday intimate moments in a highly personal way. The exhibition features a selection of recent and new paintings together with the film Electrical Gaza (2015), in which the artist shows Gaza as if under an enchantment, constantly transforming from the reality of a besieged ‘strip’ into its magical other and making us aware that the truth lies in both depictions.
Electrical Gaza
The 16mm film Electrical Gaza (2015) depicts a still intact and lively Gaza, shot in 2014 before the Israeli attacks on the area. Nashashibi fuses footage of daily life with animations and a hypnotic soundscape, giving seemingly everyday scenes an alienating atmosphere. This charged situation has since been overtaken by the ongoing two year onslaught by Israel, lending the work new layers of meaning ten years on.
A Stone held in the Hand
The film is surrounded by and enters into a dialogue with Nashashibi’s recent and new paintings, which have a lush and surreal appearance. They incorporate motifs from art history – such as swans, crosses and flowers – and from the grim political landscape, including hands holding stones, references to the UNRWA refugee agency and colour fields that resemble a flag. The title Stones embodies this layered complexity. Stones have meaning for Palestinians in many ways: they form buildings and symbolise history, resilience and perseverance. But they can also represent resistance and/or destruction. Nashashibi’s works encourage us to look with fresh eyes.
“With Stones, we’re building on one of our new programming pillars, Global Connections, in which voices from around the world offer new perspectives on our times. Nashashibi’s strength lies in her work’s complex layering, in which she weaves the everyday with urgent political realities, reminding us of the necessity of human connection.”
– Margriet Schavemaker, Director of Kunstmuseum Den Haag, (NL).
Artist Talk
On Saturday 29 November, Rosalind Nashashibi will talk with curator Yasmijn Jarram about the exhibition and her artistic practice. Register here.
