Dina Nazmi Khorchid

In her practice, Dina Khorchid (Palestinian, b. 1987) translates her growing interest in textiles, printmaking, interiors, nature and food culture into a process driven exploration of mark-making and material studies. Portrayed as works on paper and fabric, her domestic as well as diasporic outlook on subject-matter navigates a personal space, landscape or language of connection, in relation to the fragility of loss, preservation and memory access. Creating designed order to maneuver through the chaotic, nostalgic, burdened and anxious mind.

Dina’s work has been showcased in various group shows, including ‘Keyword Palestine II (2020) at the Institute for Palestine Studies – Washington, United States of America, HWP Open Studios (2019) at Ashkal Alwan – Beirut, Lebanon, ’Ishara: Signs, Symbols & Shared Languages’ (2018) at Concrete, Alserkal Avenue – Dubai, United Arab Emirates, ‘Community & Critique: SEAF 2016/1017 Cohort 4’ (2017) at Warehouse421 – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ (2014) at the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival – Liverpool, United Kingdom, and ‘Vibrations Within’ (2009) at Tashkeel – Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Dina was a fellow at the Ashkal Alwan Home Workspace Program (HWP, 2018-2019) and the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF, 2016-2017). She received a Bachelors in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah (AUS, 2009). She is currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, 2021-2023), where she is a recipient of the Society of Presidential Fellows Award.

 

 

Engram

Stemming from a search for balance between presence and absence, Dina’s work is rooted in the relationship or rather conflict between them. Mark-making through repetitive forms and voids is integral to her practice and in translating rhythms of thoughts into formations and
obstructions of visual and emotional patterns.

An engram is a hypothetical permanent change in the brain accounting for the existence of memory. A memory trace, a recording of a past painful event not normally accessible to the conscious mind.

In this work, Dina traces childhood memories and records of past events that are not vividly or directly accessible to my conscious mind. By utilizing a delicate and playful yet sensitive set of symbols and visual language, Dina attempts to reconstruct and weave these fragments of encounters into altered narratives, as a means to address loss, the passing of time and persistence of memories.

MAKTOOB A Letter from Dad, 1990

A few months before Dina’s father went missing in the Gulf War, he wrote a letter to his mother to comfort her and the family and to update them on what Dina, her 3 siblings, and her mother were up to. For each one of the family members, he wrote a sentence that now, 27 years later, feels very fitting to each one’s character or interests.
Unfortunately, Dina’s father’s fate remains unknown. Discovering his words ‘Dina draws
a pigeon’ (حمامة ترسم دينا (was a very potent experience. Dina says; “My younger self would have thought perhaps one day, he’ll chase after my pigeons.”

‘Maktoob’ is the Arabic word meaning ‘letter’ and also ‘destiny’. This piece delves into family archives, memory and the written word.