The Ruskin is delighted to announce screenings of two unique films that focus on Palestinian experiences, histories, and speculative futures by two renowned artists. From 5 – 6.30pm, there will be screenings of In Vitro (28min, 2019) by Larissa Sansour and Electrical Gaza (17min, 2015) by Rosalind Nashashibi, followed by a conversation with the two London-based artists chaired by the Ruskin’s Anthony Gardner and Oreet Ashery.

In Vitro is a sci-fi short filmed in black and white, set in the aftermath of an eco-disaster. Using heirloom seeds collected in the final days before the apocalypse, a group of scientists are preparing to replant the soil above. Central to their discussion is the intricate relationship between past, present and future, with the Bethlehem setting providing a narratively, politically and symbolically charged backdrop. Larissa Sansour was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Bethlehem in Palestine. Her work often uses science fiction to address social and political issues, dealing with memory, inherited traumas, power structures and nation states.

In Electrical Gaza, Rosalind Nashashibi presents Gaza as under a spell; isolated, suspended in time, under siege and always highly charged. She shows us Gaza as she experienced it in the quiet pause before the onslaught of Israeli bombardment in the summer of 2014. British Palestinian artist Rosalind Nashashibi is a painter and filmmaker. Her films chronicle intimate moments of contemporary life across diverse circumstances with a deeply empathetic and personal approach.