Since 2021, Lamia Joreige has been working on a script for the feature film and video installation Jerusalem, the diary of Ihsan Turjman, based on the diary of an Ottoman soldier who lived through the events that led to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent partition of Palestine and the Levant by Western colonial powers. The manuscript, written in 1915-1916, resonates painfully with the present. It alludes to the state of uncertainty that has persisted for more than one century and points to the connection between the events experienced by Turjman and the colonialism that endures in Palestine today.

Ihsan’s diary affords an intimate and personal perspective, dotted with moments of hope within the catastrophe that befell the entire region during World War I. The young Jerusalemite soldier expresses his fears, ideals and intimate thoughts alongside political observations about his country during a time of disintegration.

Fifteen paintings are presented as part of an installation called Background for a Script (2024). With the exception of Turjman’s portrait, the paintings interpret scenes of Joreige’s script. They deliberately exclude human figures, and instead portray the context, landscapes and objects destined for a future film. These paintings are mirrored by fragments of scenes from the script, which help us imagine Ihsan’s social context and mental state. Joreige was in the process of casting actors to portray the character of Turjman in 2023, but the project was put on hold in October of that same year. The video Casting for a film, Ihsan’s diary was finally shot in March 2025 and completed in early 2026. It is also presented in this exhibition.