Jafar Dajani's offering for Palestine, Liberty, Freedom by Mahdi Baraghithi.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Zawyeh Gallery’s group exhibition (Jan. 26 – Apr. 30) titled Posters for Gaza, sees the participation of 26 Palestinian and Arab artists. The exhibition in the Alserkal Avenue located gallery aims to shed light on the ethnic cleansing and horrific massacres taking place in Gaza Strip; it demands a cease-fire and the recognition of the rights of Palestinians to live freely on their land with dignity. Four of the participating artists are originally from Gaza Strip, where they have lived and have families. Uniformly sized and designed in a simplified manner, the posters reflect uniqueness in terms of style, materials and underlying narratives.

Steering away from the digital norm, the artists pour out their efforts in producing the posters; they are living witnesses of the contents. They utilise a variety of materials, including acrylics, inks, charcoal, collage and mixed media, while some artists employ digital design techniques. Posters represent a long tradition in Palestinian history. Political posters were produced extensively in the 1970s and 80s by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), with the contribution of Palestinian, Arab, and international artists. Posters played a crucial role in supporting the justice of the Palestinian cause and promoting it globally, guided by the values of freedom, dignity, resilience, and the aspiration for independence.

The Palestine Poster Project Archives notes that “the Palestine poster genre dates back to around 1900 and, incredibly, more Palestine posters are designed, printed and distributed today than ever before. Unlike most of the political art genres of the twentieth century such as those of revolutionary Cuba and the former Soviet Union, which have either died off, been abandoned, or become mere artifacts, the Palestine poster genre continues to evolve. Moreover, the emergence of the Internet has exponentially expanded the genre’s network of creative contributors and amplified the public conversation about contemporary Palestine.”

 Posters for Gaza as seen in Zawyeh Gallery.

Participating artists in the exhibition include Asad Azi, Aude Abou Nasr, Bashar Alhroub, Bashar Khalaf, Bashir Makhoul, Dyala Moshtaha, Fuad Alyamani, Haneen Nazzal, Hazem Harb, Hassan Manasrah, Hosni Radwan, Issam Alhaj Ibrahim, Jafar Dajani, Khaled El Haber, Mahdi Baraghithi, Majdulin Nasrallah, Mohammed Joha, Nabil Anani, Rana Samara, Reda Alyasari, Saher Nassar, Sliman Mansour, Tayseer Barakat, Vera Tamari, Wadei Khaled and Yazan Abu Salameh.

The posters have been produced specifically for the exhibition and the works shed light on the ethnic cleansing and horrific massacres taking place in the Gaza Strip — possibly the worst in modern history. The themes vary; yet all the artists denounce Israeli crimes, Western complicity, and call for humanism to prevail. Themes that address human rights violations in Gaza are evident in the works All Rights Not Reserved by Hosni Radwan, All Rights Reserved by Yazan Abu Salameh, and Ekhtilal by Asad Azi. Nabil Anani demands Stop The Genocide and Sliman Mansour works on revealing the attempts to conceal the scenes of destruction, bombardment, and killings. Gazan artist Mohammed Joha encapsulates anxiety and worries for his family living in Gaza in his poster, Sleepless. The heavy weight of grief and melancholy also manifests in Gazan artist Hazem Harb’s poster. Artists Aude Abou Nasr and Dyala Moshtaha express grief and anguish in different ways. Renowned Lebanese revolutionary singer Khaled El Haber participates with a sarcastic handwritten poster that reads, We are doing fine in Gaza … What about you?!

Hassan Manasrah and Vera Tamari call for the freedom of Palestine, while artists Mahdi Baraghithi, Rana Samara, Jafar Dajani, Saher Nassar, Haneen Nazzal, Issam Al-Haj Ibrahim and Majdulin Nasrallah, use powerful symbols of resistance and resilience, to give the message loud and clear that Palestinians will not leave their land and will continue the struggle. Bashir Makhoul mourns the thousands of child martyrs and their shattered dreams in his poster Lost Words, while Gazan artist Tayseer Barakat chooses to work on the theme of memory, where atrocities are engraved.

 Posters shining brightly.

Bashar Alhroub, Wadei Khaled and Iraqi artist Reda Alyasari focus on the warmth of family and motherhood, while Bashar Khalaf and Fuad Alyamani depict the lethal missiles sent from the sky towards the “safe homes” of Gaza. The Institute for Palestine Studies, as part of a joint project with the Palestinian Museum, notes that “the most prolific period of poster production started in the mid-1960s. By the time the Palestine Liberation Organization moved its headquarters to Beirut, it attracted a nebula of dissident, gifted, and innovative artists and intellectuals. Artists produced and promoted films, photographs, reportages, pamphlets, and posters; the latter were the most effective, lightweight and low-cost means of visual and iconographic communication.”

There were no aesthetic directives regarding the posters that galvanised the masses; the PLO cadres commissioning posters were neither didactic nor dogmatic. But religious symbols were respected and anti-Semitic language or iconography was not tolerated. The posters produced during the 1970s and early 1980s (when the PLO was headquartered in Beirut) showed refugees, men and women, who rose as freedom fighters from the squalor of tents, learning to read and write and acquiring guerrilla warfare skills.

They depicted Palestinians farmers, workers, teachers, and poets - all custodians of a rich and diverse culture. Posters were also a means to counter the traumatic dispersal of Palestinians: homes were lost, but the iconic record of having had a home was represented; the land was no longer in sight, but the artistic imagining of the homeland kept the bond of affiliation alive. Posters for Gaza is a partner event in conjunction with Reel Palestine 2024. They can be accessed at https://zawyeh.store/posters/