Fig.1. In Vitro (2019)
Larrisa Sansour
Larissa Sansour, a Palestinian artist, uses speculative fiction as a powerful lens to explore complex political realities, identity, and collective memory through her multidisciplinary art practice. Her work critically examines the Palestinian experience by creating alternative narratives that blend science fiction, documentary aesthetics, and surreal imagery.
In her video works and photographic series, Sansour often constructs imagined futures or parallel histories that challenge traditional representations of Palestinian life. For instance, her series “Nation Estate” (2012) envisions a dystopian scenario where Palestinians live vertically in a massive skyscraper, each floor representing a different Palestinian city. This speculative approach allows her to critique ongoing political constraints and spatial fragmentation while offering a provocative reimagining of national identity.
Sansour’s films like “In the Future, They Ate from the Finest Porcelain” (2016) further demonstrate her narrative strategy. The film blends documentary-style interviews with science fiction elements, exploring how historical narratives are constructed and contested. She uses archaeological mythology and fictional future scenarios to interrogate concepts of evidence, memory, and cultural preservation.
Her artistic methodology frequently employs science fiction tropes to deconstruct geopolitical realities. By creating alternate worlds and timelines, she highlights the absurdity of current political situations while providing nuanced commentary on displacement, resistance, and cultural survival. These speculative narratives become metaphorical spaces where historical trauma, political oppression, and collective imagination intersect.
Through her innovative approach, Sansour transforms art into a critical tool for reimagining possibilities beyond current geopolitical limitations, using speculative fiction not as escapism, but as a profound means of political and cultural analysis.
Fig.2. Nation Estate (Clip) (2012)
Fig.3. A Space Exodus (Clip) (2009)
Fig.4. In the Future they Ate from the Finest Porcelain (trailer) (2016)
Bibliography
Palestine Square (2015) “Bethlehem Bandolero,” Interview With Artist Larissa Sansour At: https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/232418# (Accessed 05/01/25)
Murney, A (2021) Messing with Men in Space: The Speculative Imagination in Contemporary Art [PhD Thesis] University of New South Wales At: https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/entities/publication/2aded749-3a1e-43a8-af66-a41cea0dfcbd (Accessed 05/01/25)
List of Illustrations
Fig.1. Sansour, L (2019) In Vitro (Still) [Digital Video] At:https://www.spikeisland.org.uk/exhibition-services/film-and-video-production/larissa-sansour-in-vitro/ (Accessed 05/01/25)
Fig.2. Sansour, L (2012) Nation Estate (Clip) [Digital Video] At: https://larissasansour.com/Nation-Estate-2012 (Accessed 05/01/25)
Fig.3. Sansour, L (2009) A Space Exodus (Clip) [Digital Video] At: https://larissasansour.com/A-Space-Exodus-2009 (Accessed 05/01/25)
Fig.4. Sansour, L (2016) In the Future they Ate from the Finest Porcelain (trailer) [Digital Video] At: https://larissasansour.com/In-the-Future-2016 (Accessed 05/01/25)