Artwork:
My painting emerged from a period of profound sorrow, born from the relentless stream of heartbreaking images and videos that flooded my screen nightly as journalists in Gaza bravely documented their own annihilation. In response to this overwhelming emotional weight, I felt compelled to translate this anguish into form.
This painting captures a moment of unbearable tenderness and devastating loss: Samia Al-Atrash bidding a final farewell to her two-year-old niece, Masa. Faced with the enormity of this grief, I turned to a new and unfamiliar technique, employing only a palette knife. The physical act of layering and sculpting the paint became a visceral expression of the fractured and sharp edges of grief.
It is an act of bearing witness, a cry for empathy, and a profound statement against the dehumanization of those enduring unimaginable hardship. This work stands as a solemn remembrance of Masa and countless others, and a fervent call for justice and liberation.
Free Palestine.
Artist Statement:
When I am moved by the energy or emotion of an image, my paintings are a way for me to connect with that energy and emotion, to give them life in a new form. My hope is that the viewer can sense and feel what is alive, and have an experience in the presence of my paintings.
I am passionate about paint as a means of communicating emotion and energy. Beyond word, beyond mind, we enter into the heart, where one feels a response or connection to that which is being viewed. Magnificent art invites us to feel what it is to be alive, to engage with the world around us with all of our essence and soul. As an artist, I strive to awaken and connect to that place within you.
$1,165
