Open Studio – Paris – 2016

Presented after a residency at Cité internationale des arts in Paris, this exhibition marked a turning point after years of work in besieged Gaza. Returning to the image of the schoolchild in Gaza, the works avoided direct depictions of suffering, focusing instead on internal feelings, inspired by an Iraqi poem about Gaza’s children. It explored how exile can shed new light on these faces—not as victims, but as living beings with dreams and desires.

From Jerusalem to Paris

Acrylic with collage on canvas | 140× 160 cm

About This Work

An artwork created in 2016 at the Palestinian studio in the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, post-2014 war. It embodies intelligent resistance that exposes and confines oppression without justifying its brutality. It reflects the suffering of our people under siege and the contrast between our lives and the open world. Despite leaving Gaza, I have yet to visit Jerusalem, my original city.

Ascension of the Innocents

Acron canvas | Two separate panels | (Panel 1: 80 × 80 cm, Panel 2: 180 × 80 cm)

About This Work

This piece portrays children carrying their school bags, standing within a closed circle, seen from above as if under a microscope—evoking the detached, clinical gaze of the world toward their fragile existence. In the second part, the children ascend into the sky, transforming into winged figures—angels or spirits—symbolizing death as a passage to freedom. The work reflects on the vulnerability of innocence under siege, and the longing for escape and salvation.