A collective project curated by the Valencian artist ESCIF i Teresa Juan which brings together some of the most prominent names in international contemporary art to reflect, from artistic creation, on the resistance and dignity of the Palestinian people. The exhibition is part of the institutional commitment of the UV to the defense of human rights and to the visibility of the situation in Gaza, and proposes a route that revolves around a universal symbol: the olive tree that continues to sprout even in the midst of devastation.
The exhibition presents more than twenty works by fifteen artists, between facilities, photograph, paint, video, muralism and collaborative pieces. They participate, among others, Banksy (United Kingdom), Shepard Fairey (united states), Emily Jacir (Palestine), Lamia Ziade (Lebanon/France), Blu (Italy), Aruallan (France), Wilfredo Prieto (Cuba), Sam3 (Spain), Daniel Muñoz (Spain) and the Valencians Fermin Jimenez Landa, David Segarra and the same ESCIF, along with Palestinian photojournalists Majdi Fathi, Saher Alghorra i Haitham Imad, in addition to the contributions of the Community Palestine of Valencia, BDS País Valencian and the Delàs Center for Peace Studies.
Among the most significant pieces, the audiovisual installation created expressly for the exhibition by the Italian artist Blu stands out, key figure in the recent history of muralism. The Lebanese artist Lamia Ziadé has painted on site a mural originally done on 2016 on the wall between Lebanon and Israel (to the Lebanese side, to the people of Kfar Kila). The room also hosts a large printed canvas by Emily Jacir, three meters by three, lent by the Simondi gallery and previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale. One of the most striking interventions is the temporary installation on the north facade of the building (Patriarch Square) of the monumental illustration Can you hear us?, by Shepard Fairey -eight meters per cinc i mig-, disseminated as part of the international campaign Unmute Gaza. The same ESCIF, together with Banksy, presents in the room a fiberglass sculpture representing an ax from the handle of which a flower springs, a gesture that synthesizes the idea of resistance through beauty.
The route extends to the cloister of La Nau, where the Palestinian Community of Valencia has worked together with ESCIF in the creation of painted panels that make their voice visible in the first person and collectively. The exhibition includes, Besides, a set of reproductions of Aruallan photographs / Hans Lucas Agency made in the West Bank and texts of collaborating organizations that the public will be able to take away freely, with the will that the images and stories continue to circulate beyond the room.
