ART PALESTINE: NABIL ANANI, SLIMAN MANSOUR, TAYSEER BARAKAT
5 OCTOBER - 5 NOVEMBER 2011
Meem Gallery

Art Palestine, curated by Rula Alami Zaki and Charles Pocock, exhibits the recent work of contemporary Palestinian artists Nabil Anani, Tayseer Barakat and Sliman Mansour. Through their work each artist reflects on the occupation of Palestine, iconography related to their culture, as well as current regional topical and political issues such as the recent Middle East uprisings. Anani's work focuses on the symbolism of the olive tree, a major component of Palestine's landscape. For him, the destruction of the olive tree by Israeli forces refelcts the plight of the people living under the occupation. While, Barakat describes his work as 'a mosaic of images', which explores the recent uprisings, Palestine's history and his personal struggle with living under the occupation. He states: 'The chanting of the uprisings across Arab streets has recovered my shattered soul from the alleys of exile and my deep desire to return home.' Mansour draws inspiration from the subject of the olive tree, and has focused on the theme of 'land' since 1970. His recent work is centred on the individual figure to convey the 'different states of exhausting anticipation or loss', resulting from his experience of living under the occupation.