Gauze — SPILL 180

GAUZE
SHIRIN TOWFIQ
10/23/25 - 11/16/25

GAUZE

Gauze originated in the ancient city of Gaza, Palestine. The word “gauze” is believed to be derived from the Arabic word “jazz” or the Persian word “kaz,” both meaning raw silk, and both related to the city of Gaza’s historical textile industry according to Fabriclore and Britannica. While the exact inventor is not known, Gaza’s strategic location on ancient trade routes facilitated the spread of this fabric, which was then imported to Europe as early as the 13th century. The fabric was particularly known for its fine silk weaving, and its name eventually became associated with the region.

I am particularly thinking about the materiality of gauze as a fabric that has been created to heal wounds, and how the most vulnerable populations are often doing so much healing.

how many of our wounds
have been dressed
because of them
and how many of theirs
have been left open
because of us

- Em Berry

Last month, my grandmother passed away. I made the video work to honor the women in my family by reflecting their faces in water, which slowly slips through my hands. Their images—like memory, place, and time—dissolve as I try to hold them.

The morning before the show, I dreamt of my aunt hosting a party in a lush, green garden. To my surprise, my grandmother was there, alive. She told me she had returned from the dead and was now going to live her life as she never had before. A woman whose life was transformed by exile, she now appeared radiant, healthy, and free. I want to give her a new life of recognition, not only for the hardships she endured, but for her strength, her tenderness, and her resilience.