Paintings by artist Nameer Qassim on display at P21 Gallery
An exhibition of Palestinian art has opened at P21 Gallery in central London.
It came at a time of polarization in the art world.
Several venues in Europe and North America have canceled exhibitions and events by Palestinian and pro-Palestinian artists, primarily because of their comments regarding the Israel-Gaza war. And in Istanbul, works by Israeli artists were removed from exhibitions to avoid public outcry.
“From Palestine with Art” was already on display at the 2022 Venice Biennale, but organizers said they felt the need to bring it back to the spotlight given the current situation.
“We’re trying to show what Palestinians really are: we’re peace-loving people, we’re human beings,” said curator Faisal Saleh, director of the Palestine Museum in the United States.
Gazan artist Mohammed Alhaji paints “Migration” in 2021
He showed me around the two floors of the exhibition and told me little anecdotes about some of the 20 artists on display here.
As you walk among the vivid paintings, intimate photographs, and bronze sculptures, you can’t help but feel the vibrancy of an art scene that’s rarely talked about.
Finally, Saleh stopped in front of a painting depicting faceless people wandering aimlessly through an abstract space. The author, Mohammed Alhaji, is a painter from Gaza.
“It could be the U.S.-Mexico border, it could be the Turkey-Greece border,” Saleh said.
“When Muhammad Alhaji painted this in 2021, he intended it to be universal. He never thought it would be his.” added, referring to the ongoing war.
Mohammed al-Hajj is one of the thousands of Palestinians displaced in Gaza since the war began.
He and his family have taken refuge in a tent in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza. It is a long strip of land along the coast with few buildings, mostly consisting of sand dunes and farmland.
Communication has become increasingly difficult over the past few weeks, but I was able to speak to him briefly via voice message.
“The situation is really bad. Words cannot describe how bad it is,” he told me.
“Salt water is hard to come by, and drinking water is hard to come by. Every day is exhausting. Those who had money are running out. Those who had the ability to endure this are no longer able to do so.”
Alhaji said he and his wife and four children are now trying to escape from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.
Taki Sabatine paints the landscapes of the West Bank, where he lives.
In the exhibition, one wall is covered with landscape paintings. They tell stories of beautiful, war-torn lands.
Among the lush olive groves, in some places you can find traces of road closures and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Two of these paintings are by Taki Sabatine, a famous graffiti artist who lives in the village there.
“I painted a picture full of hope, without struggle or violence,” he told me by phone a few days before the exhibition. “I took this opportunity to show people the beauty of Palestine.”
When I asked him how he felt about having his work exhibited in London, he let out a deep sigh.
“This exhibition is an emergency archive,” he says. “My friends in Gaza sent me pictures of their studios, but all their paintings were damaged. [in London], I’m on the safe side. ”
“Good. I feel like a part of me was able to get out of this mess.”
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sound and follow BBC London on Facebook. X And Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].