Wake, Butterfly: Beyond (So What) with Edward Salem
·13 min
Edward Salem reflects on a painting titled 'What is Beyond So What?' and uses it as a framework for exploring his personal and political journey. He traces his path from idealistic young artist making political protest art about Palestinian causes through the movements of 2009 (One State Conference, BDS momentum) to present-day despair following the 2023 Gaza genocide. Edward describes giving up art entirely, taking a day job, and losing hope after decades of witnessing cyclical violence against Palestinians, Arabs, Iraqis, and Muslims. He then articulates a hard-won philosophical position: embracing the paradox of creating art that changes nothing materially, yet continues creating as a coping mechanism and act of defiant meaning-making. His family history (parents' love story, childhood in Chaldean Detroit) grounds the abstract political analysis in intimate personal stakes.
