Cover image of the review
Installation view of Justine Youssef, Somewhat Eternal, UTS Gallery, 2023. Photo: Jacquie Manning

Somewhat Eternal


11 Nov 2023
UTS Gallery 3 Oct - 24 Nov 2023

First, I’d like to place Somewhat Eternal, Justine Youssef’s current exhibition at UTS Gallery, in relation to the current moment. Following Hamas’s 7 October attack, we have been witnessing a genocide unfold before our eyes, as the already besieged Gaza faces relentless and catastrophic bombardment by Israeli artillery and airstrikes. In just over four weeks, the far-right fundamentalist ethnostate has pulverised entire families and neighbourhoods and killed over 10,000 Palestinians. We are seeing the systematic erasure of an indigenous population under a colonial, Zionist regime which began long before 7 October, in 1948 (or as far back as 1917). In the face of these atrocities, we are also seeing a global movement mobilising like never before—protesting the ongoing Nakba and threatening the conditions of collective apathy, silence, and complicity which have, until now, allowed it to continue. 

Sign in to read for free

Sign in for free to read the archive and get the latest review each Saturday morning. With our readers subscribing to our free weekly exhibition review, Memo Review can continue to publish quality, independent weekly art criticism.

Consider becoming a Patreon supporter or making a donation.

45