Do Not Give Up Hope or Fall to Complacency: Gaza Remains The Story

By Esther Kabwika

I came to discover this exhibition by chance, when i was pondering what the subject of my next piece would be. I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing a multi-media art show, its purpose being to demonstrate that there is strength, power and meaning in the ordinary, the everyday. Through the mediums of fine art, photography and short film, Art House Studios collaborated with the Palestine museum, a non-governmental association which aims to showcase Palestinian arts, culture and way of life amidst violence and displacement, using archives which may have otherwise been lost. Before the I was able to see the short film, I had the privilege of viewing the Gaza Remains The Story exhibition. It offered glimpses into Palestinian history and geography, tracing its image in the global imagination over centuries. This included Palestine before borders, through the British military and partition plan under the mandate to what the reality of Palestine is today. This image, taken at the exhibition, reveals the alarming land loss experienced by Palestinians over the years of occupation and settler colonialism:  

 

The importance of showcasing Palestinian people in moments of joy , beyond the numbers, beyond the devesating daily footage coming out of what are essentially war zones, beyond the death toll, is integral to the strength of the resistance. As the poet Toi Derricotte once said in her poem The Telly Cycle that, “Joy is an act of resistance” [1]. This reminds us all that although the news of the Palestinian plight grows darker day by day, knowing that finding hope in the art we produce, the images we take and the stories we tell to keep the memory of marginalised people alive and to do what the media often fails to do: humanise them. The remainder of the exhibition featured an experimental documentary style film titled Gaza.MP4. Directed and produced by Diaa lagan, This short film is a meditation on the mundanity of hope in the aftermath of the on-going genocidal war on Palestine. The scattered, hapzhard and home-made feeling to the film captured the biting reality of what displacement is like: chaotic, unsettling and bleak.

The subject of this film or ‘character’ Mohannad, makes use of his phone to capture raw visual materials on his journey to find respite amongst the chaos and uncertainty. Gaza. MP4 presents footage from Gaza, Mohannad’s artworks, his graduation film, and the Telegram chats between him and Diaa.

The film showcases the consequences of war and destruction, recording the progression from crowded marketplaces to torn city buildings; from claustrophobia to desolation. Gaza.MP4 Also addresses the cognitive and psychological impact of witnessing war crimes through screens, while maintaining a connection to someone experiencing it firsthand.

It is a tragically realistic and experimental depiction of occupation and conflict. It’s minimalistic videography (credit to Mohannad El-Masri), is what makes it truly special. the typically horrifying images which come out of Gaza were not shown and the focus on simplicity paid off. Rather than exploiting someone else’s story to ‘add’ to the film, the creative choice to use minimal editing, not use music or flashy imagery was an intelligent choice as it conveyed exactly what it needed to and it added a layer of vulnerability that expensive film equipment perhaps, could not.

Overall, Gaza Remains the Story was an incredibly educational and transformative experience not just for those seeking to learn more about the history and the context of the occupation but a teaching moment for those who already too, in the sense that it is a heartfelt and passionate reminder of why activism in all of its forms is still important, now more than ever to the cause of Palestinian liberation and to the collective liberation of all those who live under occupation and terror.

More information about the Palestinian Museum can be found at: https://www.palmuseum.org/en.  

Sources:

[1] Derricotte, Toi, “The Telly Cycle”, Rattle. Accessed October 10th, 2024. https://www.rattle.com/from-the-telly-cycle-by-toi-derricotte.