10 Questions with Nora Lagström Jebara

THE ORIGINAL ISSUE10 Art Magazine | Featured Artist

Nora Jebara (1998) is a young female artist of dual Palestinian and Swedish identities, currently residing and studying for a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering with Industrial Design in Lund, Sweden. Raised in Palestine, Jebara is self-taught, exploring and working within the visual communication field, combining her digital art and photography to form ideas and messages, creating a platform for one's creativity and madness.

www.lagstromjebara.com

Mentally Occupied | PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Mentally Occupied is a collection of digital visuals. The visuals expose different mental disorders, which are universal disorders that humans experience regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or geographic location.

The artist chose to work with the most common mental disorders in Palestine, her original source of inspiration and focus for this art project. The Palestinian population has been exposed to a series of ongoing traumatic events, social suffering, and collective disaster due to the ongoing Israeli occupation and apartheid. Human rights violations in Palestine are connected to psychological distress and have a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of individuals and communities.

Mental health has always been implicitly prohibited in most places on Earth, and suffering from a mental disorder is often taken as taboo and shameful. This negativity associated with mental health derives from culture, which has historically and presently portrayed mental disorders as excessively repulsive or, perhaps, too sacred for "ordinary" people to deal with.

Being crazy, fearless, mad, free, mentally ill, normal, odd, and different is part of human nature. Still, unfortunately, our modern society often fails to tap into the uniqueness and differences that humans exhibit. Instead, society has restricted us with countless criteria and standards that we should follow, all in the spirit of conforming to the norm.

This collection unleashes the power of vision and mission. The mission is to raise awareness, break the rules and stigmas over mental health, and expose the female body features in a sense of a revolution against misogyny and patriarchy. The female body is normally sexualized and seen as an object of pleasure, not as exhibiting merely biological features.

***Mental Disorders***, Digital, 1500x2109 px, 2020 © Nora Lagström Jebara

INTERVIEW

First of all, tell us something about you. What is one key piece of information about you that will help our readers understand your work?

For nearly three years, I worked as a personal assistant for people on the autism spectrum and with ADHD. This showed me how different we are as humans in terms of how we think, observe, and communicate. This experience taught me the importance of awareness regarding mental health disorders. My focus on mental health underscores the idea that understanding the human brain and psyche will always lead to harmony, whereas misunderstanding these human elements generate violence and toxicity in society. As humans, fearing that which we do not understand has long been a universal sentiment of our race, and the sentiment is reflected very much so when it comes to the topic of mental health. Society has restricted us with countless criteria and standards that we should follow, all in the spirit of conforming to the norm.

You were raised in Palestine and come from Palestinian and Swedish heritage. Do they influence your work? And do you feel more related to one or the other?

Both my cultures influence me in everything I create and how I think and perceive things. I get inspired by the similarities and contrasts of both cultures. Sometimes, when I'm in Palestine, I feel more Swedish, and more Palestinian when I'm in Sweden. So naturally, I try to think in both languages when I create. Although, I have to admit that I'm more biased towards Palestinian cuisine. It's just so delicious!

I grew up in Palestine, where the population has one of the highest rates of mental disorders in the world due to the occupation and limited mental health services. In Sweden, where I live now, the social and political climate is very different than in Palestine, so the mental health space is not stigmatized or underfunded to the same extent. I draw inspiration from both places to shed light and raise awareness on mental health issues.

***ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity***, Digital, 1500x2109 px, 2020 © Nora Lagström Jebara

***DEPRESSION***, Digital, 1500x2109 px, 2020 copia © Nora Lagström Jebara

Currently, you are enrolled in a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering with Industrial Design in Lund, Sweden. How do engineering and art come together in your work? Do you find common ground that helps you express yourself?

Engineering, design, and art are the perfect combination for me. It allows me to express my creativity in a more complex way. I chose this major because of the mixture of design and engineering. I use art to create and develop products in my study work, using tools like creative thinking, sketching, prototyping with different materials and 3D modelling. In my creative work, I also apply analytical and practical skills. There's no better feeling than seeing a concept you've had in your mind come to life in visuals, photos, and forms you designed with your own hands and brain.

Your works are visual renditions of mental disorders. How did you come up with this concept, and what does it represent for you?

One day, I was experimenting with various Adobe applications to create a poster. I started with a black background and then added a human figure that I created. I wanted to add a text in Arabic. The first thing that popped into my head was PTSD. I thought: "what is PTSD called in Arabic?" I was frustrated that I didn't know the answer to that. That prompted me to search for all kinds of mental disorders names in Arabic. I read articles and research to better understand the mental health situation in Palestine and the Middle East, and the North Africa region. I decided to do a collection of the ten most common mental disorders in Palestine and named it "Mentally Occupied".

As a visual artist, how much do you think art can influence the debate on important themes such as mental health?

Art can communicate feelings as well as be informative with an unspoken language about unspoken topics and taboos, especially in different societies and contexts.

Last summer I had an exhibition in Jaffa, Palestine. I was amazed by the conversations and the feedback I got from the visitors. A lot of people were astonished by the collection and opened up and shared their stories. They felt the freedom to talk about their experiences without the fear of being judged whilst the visuals were on display. A Palestinian woman in her early 30s came up to me and burst into tears when she saw a visual that described a disorder that she has. She explained that it was the first time she felt included and respected because of her disorder. It made me realise the importance of continuing with this project and raising more awareness about this topic.

Do you have any source of inspiration for your works? Any style, artist, or movement you particularly look up to?

I draw inspiration from a plethora of things. I get inspired by nature, repetitive patterns, the human body, and daily life, as well as Arabic poetry, Islamic art, and architecture. Music is also an inspiration for me, more specifically, Arabic rap, French and classical music and of course the legendary Fairouz. I also draw inspiration from abstract art because it allows the viewer to interpret it in their own way.

Mental health is a pressing issue, especially after the Covid pandemic and the experience of isolation. How much did the pandemic influence this project and your work in general?

Since I don't use social media, Covid definitely limited my interaction and collaboration with people and other artists. Surprisingly, it also led me to new opportunities. "Mentally Occupied" was exhibited for the first time at the very first exhibition, "Safer Spaces", in the Middle East to tackle mental health and aims to normalize and spark conversation around the topic of mental health in the Arab world, held at the Art Space museum in Bahrain in July 2020. I also participated in an exhibition in Jaffa, Palestine, in July 2021. I did have plans to do more exhibitions in different cities in Palestine while I was there, but pandemic restrictions got in the way. I'm looking forward to planning and making it happen soon!

Over the past two years, we have witnessed a lot of changes, and many innovations are now parts of our everyday life, such as NFTs and online exhibitions. What do you think? Are they good opportunities or just a temporary trend?

I definitely think that online exhibitions are a great opportunity for many artists and art mediums. It broadens the audience and exposes them to a wider range of art forms. However, based on my previous experiences, I'd like to see online exhibitions evolve even further and become more interactive with visitors. Even after Covid, it's important to keep online exhibitions and art flowing in the digital space. NFTs, are here to stay; it's an interesting evolution for both artists and the economy. On the other hand, I think that nothing beats an offline exhibition. It's a very unique and personal experience that allows you to connect and interact with people in the real world. It's premium.

***PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder***, Digital, 1500x2109 px, 2020 © Nora Lagström Jebara

What is one thing that you still haven't tried but are planning to incorporate into your practice in the future?

Underwater photography is something I've wanted to try and incorporate into my work for a long time. I've got some interesting and challenging ideas that I'd like to try out. I think it's time!

Finally, what are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Right now, I'm focusing on analogue photography and my university studies. I'm just putting myself out there, and I'm generating ideas and concepts to do photoshoots while having fun and learning along the way. I have two photography projects that I want to do when I'm back in Palestine. I'm constantly working on "Mentally Occupied", it's an ongoing project. My goal is to do an informative book in Arabic about mental disorders and mental health in general. I always look forward to expanding this project and spreading the word about the importance of mental health.

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