This week, Israel and Hamas announced a cease-fire. It came with the release of hostages and prisoners, along with many Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza. Even though Donald Trump has declared an end to the war, it is unclear if the conflict is truly over. Even if the war is over, it does not erase the years of genocide Palestinians have faced, nor does it bring back the thousands lost, many of whom were innocent civilians and children. It will take decades to truly heal the damage that has been done.
In
chapters seven and eight of Makoto Fujimura’s Culture Care, Fujimura
introduces and explains the concept of “mearctapa”. This term describes people,
mainly artists, who live on the margins of society and work to bridge the gaps between cultures. These people, these artists, are the drivers of
change. He goes on to say that “the arts present the most powerful form of
nonviolent resistance” (Fujimura 65). When I read this, it made me think of Palestinian artists around the world and in Gaza. How they continue to create, continue to
bring awareness, continue to fight for their people, even when faced with such
intense brutality.
One
Palestinian artist that I have recently encountered is Malak Mattar. Malak was
born in Gaza City in 1999. Her father worked as a Palestinian foreign service and
her mother is a UN Relief and Works Agency English teacher. During her life,
she has lived through four wars, the first one being at age 8, up to the ongoing genocide in Gaza at age 25. She started painting in 2014, at age 13, as a way
to process her trauma. She describes the trauma of war as “not something that
can be let go of…it seeps into you and becomes a part of you”. Her art has been
displayed in 80 countries, and earlier this year she made history by becoming
the first Palestinian artist to do a solo exhibition at Central Saint Martins
in London.
In many
of her works, women are heavily featured. Malak describes these women as freer than
herself. Most of the women featured in her painting are women she knows, or
women she has seen on the streets. Through this, it connects each of her works
to her homeland. In her painting Palestinian Women Dreaming of Peace, she
explains that the women are strong by standing, but their slight head tilt
shows that their endurance is slipping. She also features animals she saw while
growing up in Gaza City, like the tropical birds her neighbor owned or the exotic
fish from the pet store. In her painting The Only Zebra in Gaza, a
single zebra is painted on a woman’s dress. The zebra is meant to represent the
zebra that was once held in a small zoo in Gaza, which was killed in an air
raid. These works of art were full of vibrant colors because she wanted “to
paint something people could look at for some time”, not something centered
around death and destruction.
Her work displayed in Central Saint Martins becomes much darker, a
reflection of the worsening situation in Gaza. These works of art were much
more raw, showing real-life scenes. While she painted, she also fought to get her family out of Gaza, yet she continued to create. She
explains that when she first opened her box of paints after October 7th,
the colors no longer served her purpose, saying, “The world drained my colors”. Where
before her paintings were meant to bring comfort, now her work is intended to be
uncomfortable. They are a direct reflection of the genocide, something no one
should be comfortable with. Where before painting brought her peace, creating
the exhibit brought her pain. “There are no words to describe it, knowing you’ve
survived, but all your loved ones are living through it, and many won’t make
it. It’s horrific pain” Malak said.
Fujimura
says; “Reminding people of our common life – that we are neighbors first – is a
task of culture care” (65). I think this quote fits perfectly for the artist of
Gaza. Their art reminds people outside of Gaza that Palestinians aren’t just
people on a screen, they are real people, going though real horror.
I love this highlighting of a Palestinian artist, and I found her quote you included about the trauma of war seeping into you and becoming a part of you to be so powerful. The art she creates is beautiful, my favorites in this post being Bear and Palestinian Women Dreaming of Peace!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing her work and the way you presented them! The last quote you used from Fujimura really stuck out to me, especially because there are people who do deny what is happening to Palestinians even though they see everything on their screens. Thank you for bringing awareness to this, I really enjoyed your post!
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