On the 28th of September 2022 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza organized an art exhibition entitled “Modern Visual Art Exhibit” in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Gaza siege.
Twelve young artists from Gaza were invited to participate in the exhibition as a means of shedding light on the repercussions of the siege on their social and psychological lives.
“The ICRC recently conducted a survey with the objective of measuring the impact of the closure on the lives of youth in Gaza” the deputy head of the ICRC in Gaza Nicolas Geeraert said on Wednesday in an interview with Palestine Chronicle explaining that according to the survey results 9 out of 10 youths believe that they live an abnormal life in Gaza because of the closure.
Geeraert affirmed that the survey revealed that 70 to 75% of the youth in Gaza are unemployed adding that those who are employed are obliged to work in precarious jobs often underpaid and beneath their qualifications.
The visual artworks of the twelve young artists from Gaza which were exhibited creatively yet painfully embodied their traumatic experiences as young men and women forced to live under the siege.
The monotone and fragile lives along with the suspended dreams of the Palestinian youths due to the “military quarantine” imposed by the Israeli occupation on the enclave were portrayed in the works of Assaf Al-Kharti and Ayman Al-Husari and several others.
Menna Bashir a freelance graphic designer from Deir al-Balah city who is interested in community activities and voluntary work visited the exhibition held in the Rashad Al-Shawwa Cultural Center in Gaza City. She told the PIC that the visual artworks embodied the state of isolation imposed on Gaza and provided an abstract reflection of its impacts.
“The sculpture of the sweeper made from medical prescriptions was the most terrifying artwork for me” Menna underlined explaining that the work illustrates how patients in Gaza have been helplessly throwing the prescriptions of medicine without being provided with it. This is due to the longstanding restrictions imposed on the passage of most medical equipment into Gaza.
Menna says that both the present and future of Palestinian youths are portrayed in the artwork of the Palestinian artist Mohammad Jahlash. His unique way of expressing movement difficulties and the high population by painting on the empty sardine cans that are usually handed to Palestinian refugees by the UNRWA compelled Menna to think of the future.
“The sculptures and paintings displayed and the plays performed during the exhibit reflected that all Gazans especially youths are involuntarily facing catastrophic circumstances due to the pressing economic and social issues brought about by the ongoing blockade of Gaza” Menna said.
“I left wondering if Gaza would stay a sardine can “fenced off” by Israeli control in addition to a thousand other questions whose answers remained suspended” she concluded.
The exhibition which was held on Wednesday and Thursday comes as part of a larger campaign entitled “Gaza’s Youth: Suspended Lives Fading Opportunities.” The campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the considerable impact of the Israeli siege on the young people of the Gaza Strip.
