issue 6
// art
Title: From Turtle Island to Palestine
Artist: Hayf Farsoun Abichahine
about the piece
| “From Turtle Island to Palestine” Photograph taken November 2025 on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ Nations 16″ x 24″ digital image printed direct to glass | available for purchase as art print | http://www.hayfphotography.ca My compass. Indigenous women leading our way. Mothers, matriarchs, aunties, and grandmothers – the ones who show up for their kin, demanding justice for our children and sovereignty for our land. Feet on the ground, fist in the air, I listen. More about this piece: “From Turtle Island to Palestine” is a part of Hayf’s first solo exhibition, “Love letters from Turtle Island to Palestine,” which features raw and telling photographs taken between 2024-2026 on the traditional lands of many Indigenous nations and peoples in so-called Canada and the USA including the Anishinaabe; Anisininew, Aztatlán; Cree; Dene-zaa; Guatecol, Huicholes(Wixárika); Ininiwak/Nehethowuk; Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk); Katzie; Métis; Mountain Métis; Nêhiyawak; Niisitapi Blackfeet; Oceti Sakowin/Dakota Oyate; Secwépemc; Səl̓ílwətaʔ; Siylix; Skwxwú7mesh; Stó:lō; Stoney Nakoda; Tla-o-qui-aht; xʷməθkwəy̓əm; and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ. This photograph features a young Haida matriarch who is proudly wearing a traditional Haida button blanket designed by her late father and sewn by her late mother. |
about the artist // Hayf Farsoun Abichahine
| Hayf (Palestinian/Lebanese) was born in Beirut and raised as an uninvited guest on the unceded lands of the šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ nations. Hayf has always found joy, community, and solidarity in creative expression – writing and performing music from a young age. In 2024, he was fired from Vancouver Coastal Health because of his past expressions of Palestinian solidarity in his private life, a blatant act of anti-Palestinian racism that ended his thriving career in equity, diversity and inclusion and destabilized his life. Hayf dove deeper into his documentary photography, applying the same principles of equity and inclusion to his art. His practice now spans a wide range of mediums including leatherwork, digital design, sewing, and printmaking. Hayf lives in East Vancouver with his two kids – together they love singing, making art, and building entire worlds of lego. Hayf dreams of a day when the three of them can walk through the streets of Haifa – the city where his Jedo was born and raised. |
Instagram: @hayf_photography & @firekeeperscollective
Websites:
http://www.hayfphotography.ca
http://www.firekeeperscollective.com
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