Gaza artist Maisara Baroud’s limited-edition prints for sale at Dubai's Zawyeh Gallery

His powerful figurative works reflect his experiences living under Israeli occupation

Maisara Baroud's home and studio were destroyed by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Pictured: A mural based on Baroud's artwork in the I'm Still Alive exhibition in Ramallah. Photo: Zawyeh Gallery

Palestinian artist Maisara Baroud’s limited-edition prints from his series I’m Still Alive will be exhibited at Zawyeh Gallery in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue. The pieces will also be sold as part of the exhibition.

Baroud is from Gaza, where his powerful figurative works, mostly in black and white, reflect his experiences living under Israeli occupation. Exploring themes of hope, resilience and the impact of conflict, Baroud’s work is emotive and draws from his immediate environment.

The artist lost his home and studio in October when Israel launched its attack on Gaza. Despite this, Baroud has been creating a drawing every day, and uploading it to his Instagram account as part of his I’m Still Alive series.

“Maisara’s work has always been powerful in terms of his techniques and concept,” Zawyeh Gallery director Ziad Anani tells The National.

“Since the start of the devastating genocide war in Gaza, Maisara has continued to create artworks without stopping, despite losing his home and studio to the destruction, which included all his paintings, tools, books and all of his memories. He says: ‘I draw as a means to tell my friends that I am still alive.’”

Zawyeh Gallery, which opened its first space in Ramallah, Palestine, in 2013, and then a second space in Alserkal Avenue in 2020, had previously worked with Baroud as part of a group exhibition in 2016, titled Narratives.

This year, Anani wanted to exhibit Baroud’s work, but it was impossible to obtain original pieces due to the logistical challenges of transporting work from Gaza to Ramallah. Instead, the gallery worked with a group of Ramallah artists, such as the cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh and artists Fuad Alyamani, Rahaf Natsheh, Salsabeel Anabtawi and Dania Omari, to collaborate with Baroud and create murals based on a selection of his drawings, which were then painted on the gallery walls.

The exhibition opened in Ramallah in April 18, and is due to close on July 7. This temporary homage to Baroud and his work was a means to translate and amplify his message, reaching a wider audience regionally and internationally.

Zawyeh Gallery has also been working with Baroud to produce a curated selection of his works as limited-edition prints, which will go on display in the Dubai space, along with smaller original works by young Palestinian artists. Baroud's limited-edition prints are now available to buy on Zawyeh’s website.

“These works represent a significant period, documenting the struggle in Gaza,” Anani says. “By preserving them as limited-edition prints, we ensure they live forever and so are the stories behind them.

“We plan to dedicate a space in the gallery in Alserkal Avenue to showcase these prints, alongside smaller original works and prints by various young and established Palestinian artists from Gaza, the West Bank and the diaspora,” Anani says.

“We believe that featuring Baroud's work in this context will enrich the space, offering people an opportunity to learn about the situation in Gaza.”