Oct 4th 2024

Landscapes from Under the Rubble:
Destroyed Artworks from Gaza

Linda Abdullah, Salem, Basel Almaqosui, Dina Matar, Majed Shala, Mohamed Abusal, Raed Issa, Rana Batrawi, Shareef Sarhan, Sohail Salim

Curated by Linda Abdullah

Co-Prosperity, 3219 S Morgan Street, Chicago
Opening Friday, October 4, 6-10PM with artist talk

Landscapes from Under the Rubble is an exhibition featuring eight Palestinian artists from Gaza. Their work exhibition encompasses work created prior to October 2023 and destroyed by the bombing, work produced by artists who were able to escape Gaza in 2024, and new works being created daily under the relentless attacks by the Israeli occupying forces.

“Landscapes from Under the Rubble” is an exhibition featuring eight Palestinian artists from Gaza. Their work exhibition encompasses work created prior to October 2023 and destroyed by the bombing, work produced by artists who were able to escape Gaza in 2024, and new works being created daily under the relentless attacks by the Israeli occupying forces.

In the face of the destruction of their homes, studios, and galleries, as well as the loss of lifetimes of work, countless artists in Gaza have been compelled to flee continuous massacres. Some artists in this show were able to escape through Rafah Crossing, while others managed to rescue their families but were unable to leave themselves. Many are currently residing in tents with their families, awaiting ceasefire, a pause in the genocide that’s just been “postponed” until at least after the US election.

“This is our only window to tell the world: we are still alive,” says Salem, a visual artist and professor at Alaqsa University. He began posting daily sketches on Facebook as a means of documenting diaries from a war zone. Other individuals are organizing art workshops for children and mothers as a form of respite from the daily trauma they endure.

This exhibition serves as a documentation of the experiences of eight artists over the course of nearly a year of ongoing genocide. “The life of a Gazan artist is not easy, as we are often isolated from the world,” Salem elucidates. “However, art serves as a bridge between us and other people.”

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