In the midst of the rubble of destroyed houses and echoed flakes of the air strikes, the artists of Gaza are seated with brushes by hand, transforming despair into a challenge. The bags of flour become canvases, the humanitarian aid boxes are transformed into portraits and each stroke of painting tells a story.
For more than 76 years, the occupation of Israel has been a threat to Palestinian culture through displacement and destruction. But even in the face of the current war, in which Israel killed more than 61,700 PalestiniansThe artists of Gaza refuse to disappear.
And some of the enclosure artists have managed to transform pain into hope while depicting the harsh realities of war and displacement. With limited resources, they continue to produce, saying that their art reflects a desire to survive.
Cultural devastation in Gaza includes the destruction of dozens of cultural, museums and artefacts, including old pottery and manuscripts. The ceasefire, which started on January 19, provided a respite, but the experts think that the full extent of the damage is unknown.
In the latest official report on the situation, the Palestinian Statistics Central Office and the Ministry of Culture said in March that 45 writers and artists had been killed in Gaza since the conflict broke out on October 7, 2023 and 32 centers cultural and 12 museums had been destroyed. The figures are now probably much higher.
Among the people killed is the artist Mahasen al-KhateebDied in October in an Israeli air strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. She was killed with all her family.
Try to “erase” Palestinian culture
While the Israeli army has always affirmed that its operations focus on the combatants involved in attacks on Israel, the artists of Gaza and the art experts argue that Israel intends to wipe Palestinian culture.
Israel “destroyed historic sites and ancient monuments, erasing thousands of years of cultural heritage in Gaza,” said Sobhi Qouta, visual artist and speaker at Al-Aqsa University who also coordinates the Visual Arts Club of the ‘Abdel Mohin al-Qattan Foundation. “Many Palestinian artists have also lost their works, whether through the bombing of their houses or the destruction of cultural centers sheltering these pieces.”
Palestinian art traces its roots to Byzantine influences and has evolved through Islamic traditions. After 1967, when Israel began to occupy Gaza, art became a powerful resistance tool with artists like Kamal Boullata and Suleiman Mansour using their work to assert the Palestinian identity in the middle of the occupation.
Artistic education was integrated into the academic landscape of Gaza in the mid-1990s with the Al-Aqsa University program. The artistic scene developed quickly, stimulated by the Eltiqa group for the launch of contemporary art in 2002 as the first modern artistic space in Gaza and followed by Shababeek for contemporary art in 2009. Despite the conflict and the Blocus of Gaza by Israel, the artistic community of Gaza has prospered. But all the main spaces of art – Eltiqa, Shababeek and Al -Aqsa – were destroyed by Israel during the war.
Silent testimonies of the struggle
Hussein al-Jerjawi, 18, endured the trip five times because of the war. And the conflict cost him a whole academic year.
War deeply influenced his artistic journey, and he turned to an unconventional medium: bags of humanitarian flour as canvas. His paintings on the symbols of survival in a besieged land show cracks, cracks and other symbols which reflect the fractured existence of those in Gaza.
“When I paint on a bag of flour, I have the impression of writing our story with a brush soaked in suffering and resilience,” said Al-Jerjawi.
The choice of help bags is a natural response to the scarcity of traditional art supplies in Gaza, al-Jerjawi said.
“In a refugee tent, surrounded by vacuum UNRWA Bags of flour, I decided to paint them to capture the pain of war and my history of travel, “he said, referring to the United Nations Agency for Rescue refugees and works United Nations, the main help agency for Palestinians.
Despite the war, Al-Jerjawi participated in art exhibitions and workshops, including relays as a visual artist of the Qattan Foundation and Shababeek. One of his paintings was presented in the Cisjordanie occupied at the Qattan Gallery, led by the Qattan Foundation, which helped feed the artistic community of Gaza, supporting children in disciplines such as drawing, theater and song.
“Even after losing so much, my art remains my challenge,” he said.
Describing one of his paintings, Al-Jerjawi said: “The bags of flour silently attend the stories of the displaced, pending survival. With printed words emphasizing a frozen human condition, raised and tight hands – captivating flour, other empty – speak to the desperate search for hope. »»
He added that “faces are stories of fatigue and hunger. The eyes are requiring not only bread but for dignity. The faded crowd in the background, like shadows, waits in an endless line. »»
Al-Jerjawi considers his art as a defense of Palestinian identity.
“The occupation seeks to erase our culture and our identity. But art preserves our memory. Each painting that I create is a document, telling the world that we are alive, we dream and we hang on to our roots. »»
Transform pain into art
Ibrahim Mahna, 19, another Palestinian artist, has transformed humanitarian aid boxes that have been used to pack food and other essential elements in works of art which, according to him, embody the pain and resilience of families displaced by war.
“These boxes are not only food containers. They have become symbols of the disastrous social conditions that we face today while reflecting our tenacity to resist and the ability to endure, “said Mahna.
Mahna began to use help boxes when traditional art supplies have become inaccessible due to war.
From the rough surface of one of his box paintings, images of emerging hollow face faces, moving silently. Behind them, the tents get into a sterile landscape flanked by palm trees.
“These faces are my people,” said Mahna.
His work often represents tents and figures covering generations, reflecting the suffering of the Palestinians who have lost everything.
“The tents have become everything they have left – a fragile shelter that offers no protection against the hardness of nature or the weight of their tragedy,” said Mahna. “The suffering of the individuals displaced in these tents inspires me to create more paintings which document their daily difficulties, ensuring that their stories testify to their existence. »»
He underlined a woman at the center of one of his paintings, his strong but tired face embodying Palestinian maternity.
“Behind her are men and children marked by war and poverty. These faces symbolize a people who refuse to be erased, ”said Mahna.
For Mahna, art is resistance and identity: “Occupation does not only take our land. He tries to erase us. Painting on help boxes allows me to recover our history.
Qouta said he has no doubt that the Israeli occupation has strongly targeted Palestinian art and culture.
Even if Mahna and Al-Jerjawi managed to continue to produce, Qouta said that the war had left many “artists unable to create due to psychological trauma”.
He added: “Many had to focus on supporting their families and safety research.”
