Spring-Summer '22 - Facing The Forests

Hundreds of thousands descend annually on Israel’s national parks and reserves. Locals and tourists hike through sprawling forests – taking in pines that reach up to a clear, Levantine sky. And yet, a painful history lies beneath their feet – beyond the forest floor. Inspired by A.B. Yehoshua’s book of the same name, Adish’s Spring Summer 2022 collection, Facing the Forests, seeks to excavate this history buried not long ago.

Atop these landscapes, where flora and fauna now root and thrive, hundreds of Palestinian villages once stood – nearly half of all the Palestinian villages depopulated or destroyed in the 1948 Nakba. Across these forests, parks, and reserves, visitors witness physical ruins scattered throughout; Israeli officials razed the other remnants to the ground. Above this land, pines and other tall trees now stand, planted in the millions – and many funded by Jewish donation campaigns.

The animals and plants that are found throughout Israel and Occupied Palestine forests decorate the collection in a series of digitally printed drawings created in collaboration with Nicholas Williams of Small Talk studio. Natural woven fabrics, applied garment dying and stone washing techniques all take inspiration from the natural tones and textures of the wild.