Khalil Rabah: Through the Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind

Khalil Rabah (Jerusalem, 1961) has designed a new project for the Fondazione Merz in Turin, which is a further development of the Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind (PMNHH). A project in progress that has transformed the nomad lifestyle and the unfinished from elements of necessity into substantial elements on which to raise questions about the role of museums in relation to cultural identities and their reshuffling.

In Turin, for the first time, Khalil Rabah’s Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind takes the form of an archaeological site, in which visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a historical narrative restored through evidence and clues. In the spaces of the Fondazione Merz, the artist challenges the role of the museum as a mere container and focuses on art as a tool for interpreting and correcting history.

Khalil Rabah bases his artistic practice on the reinterpretation of history and its interpretations. Working in painting, sculpture and installation, the Palestinian artist questions public perception, expectations and modes of display. In touching on themes of change, memory and identity, his works experiment with new ways of representing social communities and their relationship; trying to overcome the criticality of pivotal concepts such as museology and ethnography.