Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), Palestine, Gaza

At first glance the intricate ornamentation of the blue transferware simply attracts with its craft and romantic effect. However, upon closer inspection, one is confronted with an image of profound destruction in present day Palestine instead of the idyllic landscapes typical of blue chinaware. This disturbance of the colonial history associated with, and taken for granted in, historic chinaware provokes conversations about the complex current-day politics of the Israel-Gaza conflict, digital appropriation, and material culture. However, one is moved to question how redemptive such a depiction is because, like the media that it is carelessly borrowed from, it is a romanticized and generalized view of a faceless region without hope for salvation.