Ba’abos in Tel Aviv

Ba’bos (meaning raising the middle finger in Arabic). In this work Salfiti constructed a cucumbers basta in Tel Aviv similar to bastas that are in arab souks across Palestine. The Basta is packed with cucumbers that the artist bought from Jenin (A Palestinian town that went through major destruction during the Intifada) and is famous for its cheap yet fresh vegetables, where Palestinians living in Israel cross the check point every weekend to buy their vegetables from there. Salfiti is standing behind the Basta selling cucumbers and on the cucumbers, there is a sign written in Arabic stating “1 kilo cucumbers in 2ILS”. 

In the same space a flickering light box is installed with three sections: In the middle section a photo of a broken plate and from each of its sides there is one rotten cucumber. The sections to the right and left side of the board there are two photos of Salfiti’s hand, raising his middle finger (Ba’abos) once facing the space and the other side away from it.

The whole performance confronts its viewer with a universal and concise statement of cultural and political opposition and the artist’s basic disdain of the patriarchy and state power. Salfiti is addressing the reality in Tel aviv, and shedding light on the corruption/aggression of the government and the culture of white supremacy, forcing the viewer to consider the problems beyond his work. Salfiti, the cucumbers and his finger standing alone in front of the viewers raises questions of western aesthetics and ideologies by comparing the underlying meanings of cucumbers with the prevailing ideas and practices of the specific viewers and the way they see and interact with it.