Your Bombs, Our Leisure
An Object the FBI Expects to Find in the Home of an A-rap
In creating the “hookah bomb,” I was interested in combining the imagery of leisure—a hookah—with the themes of violence in the use of a nuclear weapon as the body of the hookah. This object delves into the multifaceted meaning of a nuclear weapon for the SWANA (South West Asia/North Africa) community. .
In the Western world, there’s a gluttony over Palestinian suffering. To the West, Palestinian death has become normalized. The genocide in Palestine is perceived as permanent, an unchanging part of the region’s identity—just "another day" in the life of a Palestinian. This consistent violence is expected, and Palestinians in Gaza are forced to live with the constant bombardment, making it almost as though the bombs are a tragic form of leisure, a regular occurrence in their daily existence—if bombs are your leisure, might as well smoke and get used to it.
On the other hand, SWANA and Arab Americans are often stereotyped as the terrorists—a label that fuels programs like CVE, Operation Boulder, and FBI/CIA raids targeting our communities. The hookah bomb embodies this stereotype: an object the FBI might expect to find during a raid on an Arab-American household. However, upon closer inspection, the flags reveal a deeper truth about the true architects of violence and terror.
The body of the hookah—representing the bomb—pierces the tray, made of Palestinian ceramics. This symbolizes the ongoing terror by the brutal Israeli military occupation and the genocide that continues to unfold. Yet, despite the violence and oppression, one thing that Israel and the U.S. cannot steal from us is the steadfastness and hope of the Palestinian people—who persist in their resistance against their oppressors. This is symbolized by the tobacco bowl, also crafted from Palestinian ceramics, sits atop the bomb.
I recognize as a Product designer that these sentiments can produce many different meanings and connections. I was thinking heavily about a story someone had told me that occurred at Purdue university: Arab engineering students putting a hookah together to smoke after a long day of studying and another person reporting them for supposedly making a weapon/bomb in the building.
I also thought heavily about the Palestinians in ‘48 lands who cheered at Hezbollah's rocket launches to Israel and posed in pictures.
Ideally, I would like to have those who have remained silent or are supporters of Zionism to sign the hookah bomb to confront their complicity. This is an act they already do.
The hookah was 3D printed and filled/sanded several times. Resin was poured on the inside to seal the body. The Palestinian ceramics are lovingly from Palestine and drilled through using a diamond drill bit.