PATTERNS OF LIFE

ABOUT THE INSTALLATION

MONA CHALABI
BORN 1987, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM; ACTIVE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

SITU RESEARCH
ESTABLISHED 2005, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Patterns of Life reflects on the experiences of three individuals whose homes were destroyed by domicide—the widespread and systematic destruction of housing due to military conflict, urban development, or social upheaval. Domicide is currently under review by the United Nations for potential recognition as a crime under international law.

Advancements in military technology have reshaped conflict in the 21st century. The ability to strike from unprecedented distances has made militaries increasingly reliant on remote surveillance to distinguish between targets and “patterns of life.” Although these tools and methods are employed to identify the enclaves of bad actors, such as terrorists, interpreting this information from afar can also mistake the routines of civilian domestic life as threats.

To better understand the personal, architectural, and cultural impact of domicide, data journalist Mona Chalabi and visual investigations practice SITU Research documented homes destroyed by weapons manufactured in the United States during airstrikes in Iraq (2015), Syria (2016), and Palestine (2023). In collaboration with the affected residents, the architectural models displayed here show the homes of Basim’s family in Mosul, Iraq; Osman and his wife in Manbij, Syria; and X and her son in Gaza, Palestine. Through detailed representations of heirlooms, books, toys, and domestic objects, the models celebrate the intimate lives within these homes. Accompanied by panoramic landscape illustrations, the images reveal the scale of destruction on both cities and individuals. The installation highlights the broader effects of losing shelter and community as well as the personal experiences of those displaced and lives lost. Patterns of Life illuminates the complex role of the United States in this issue, as it stands as the leading financial contributor to United Nations peacekeeping initiatives, but also the world’s largest producer of arms.

Visual Description

Patterns of Life is located at the end of the large central hallway to the right of the Grand Staircase on the second floor. It is an installation of wallpaper that contains drawings and text on the back and side walls, as well as three architectural models of homes displayed in the center on pedestals. The wallpaper is framed by the historic building’s architecture—dark brown wood trim on the top and bottom of the walls and decorative carved thresholds around the doorways that break up the images in the wallpaper. The walls depict panoramic scenery of buildings among green landscapes and blue waterways. They appear as if they have been drawn with a thin black marker and colored in with a color pencil. However, only parts of the drawings have vibrant color. Large portions on each drawing are faded. We can see how this corresponds with the text in the white space above the drawings. On the left wall it says, “40% of homes in Manbij have been damaged or destroyed including Osman’s, Source: Manbij resident, September 2024.” On the right wall it says, “65% of homes in Mosul have been damaged or destroyed including Basim’s, Source: Minority Rights Group, January 2020.” On the back wall it says, “70% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed including X’s, Source: United Nations, March 2024.” The back wall depicting Gaza is the densest, with city life by the sea drawn at the base of the wall. Only about 30% of the drawing by the back right corner is rendered in full color with small boats in the sea, clothes hung to dry, a tall round tower, a small Palestinian flag waving on top of one of the buildings, and a field of green behind the city. Mosul, Iraq, drawn on the right wall of the hallway gallery, becomes faded on one side of a large bridge along a river. On the left wall, Manbji, Syria, with its infrastructure nestled between a rolling countryside landscape, has a large section of faded tall buildings and an orchard of trees. 

The three architectural models are all white and their matching white pedestals are each a few feet wide. The first model has a brick exterior, four identical floors, and pairs of small windows. Each floor has a small balcony. Looking from the front of the building, light shines through a pair of windows on the 2nd floor. Walking around the building, we see that the model has an open facade showing a cross section of the interior. While the other floors are empty and without light, the second floor is illuminated and filled with household items. Sheer swatches of white fabric hang from the 2nd floor ceiling and are printed with illustrated furniture and heirlooms. If we look at an angle, we notice that the sheer fabric is staggered and overlapped, creating depth in the miniature apartment. The drawings printed on the fabric are reminiscent of the wall drawings in the gallery with flat, colorful and nostalgic illustrations. The home is broken up into different sections with cutout doorways. From left to right a bedroom leads to a living room with a large bookshelf and TV area. Next is the bathroom which leads to the kitchen. 

The other two building models are made similarly, with an open cross section illuminating the interiors filled with objects on sheer fabric. The model in the middle is shorter with larger arched windows, and a part of the architecture juts out at an angle from the rectangular shape of the building with a balcony on top. The open facade shows the full two-story house lit up. The central room has a staircase covered with blue carpet, a mirror by the platform mid-way up the stairs, and a blue sculptural chandelier. On the left side of the house is a large kitchen on the first floor and a bedroom with a seating area on the 2nd floor. On the right side of the house is a smaller living room with cozy furniture on the first floor, and on the second floor there is a smaller bedroom with a laptop opened at a desk and a bean bag-like chair on the floor. The last model towards the back of the hallway gallery is similar to the boxy shape of the first model but has varying styles of decorative windows. Here there are 3 floors and the 2nd floor is lit up. From left to right there is a tiny room, with a chair and plants, which leads to the bedroom followed by the living room. This is the largest room and is filled with a cozy array of small objects such as a clock, frames and shelves on the wall, an ornate sofa chair, small plants and objects on the coffee table in front of the TV, all visualized through the sheer fabric panels that contain drawings of the above elements. The final room is a blue kitchen with a couple of bar stool-style chairs. 

Acknowledgements

SITU Research team Gauri Bahuguna, Martina Duque Gonzalez, Sam Rabiyah, Frederick Rapp, Bradley Samuels, and Candice Strongwater.

Special thanks to Rami Alafandi, Feurat Alani, Najib Aminy, Benjamin Aranda, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Brian Castner, Omar Al-Dewachi, Anand Gopal, Anette Millington, Joanna Naples-Mitchell, Hussein Mohammad Samawi, Dr. Naam Riyad-Dent, and Paulo Irani.