Malak Mattar is a 22 year old Palestinian artist who expresses her experiences and emotions as a Palestinian woman through her paintings. Being born in Gaza City, Malak Mattar has lived through four wars, and her paintings are both beautiful and touching. The artwork that I chose for this blog is titled When Family Is The Only Shelter, and it was published on September 23, 2021 (The art was posted on Malak Mattar’s instagram page on this date, although there was no exact date of when it was completed). This piece is an expressionist painting of a woman holding and comforting a girl whose eyes are teary. The two people are pictured in the art over a bright red background, with bright flowers on the lower part of the painting. Although at first glance this painting can be seen as uplifting, looking at the meaning behind is quite heartbreaking. Malak Mattar mentioned in the caption of her post of this painting, that with the conflict going on in Gaza in May 2021, Palestinians living there had no protection, no bomb shelters and no safe space. The only place they could be in was their homes and with family, hoping not to be killed. This painting is trying to communicate the pain of that conflict in May of 2021, but it also holds meaning to the pain from the occupation of Gaza starting in 1967, and even to the establishment of Israel after WWII.
The reason why I chose this work is because I think the inspiration behind Malak Mattar’s art is worth looking deeper into, and learning more about than I already know now. I also chose this work because of the current war going on in Ukraine, as Russian forces attack and occupy the country. These events also stir up memories of attacks from Russia on Georgia, where I was born, and where 20% of territory is occupied by Russia, causing a lot of conflict as well as displacement of many people. I know a lot about the history of my country and Russian occupation, but I don’t know as much about the occupation of Palestine. Malak Mattar’s art really speaks about these issues to which I, and a lot of my relatives and friends relate to in some way, and it is for this reason I chose to examine her work for the next paper. A potential thesis statement is: Malak Mattar’s work exposes the pain behind war and occupation and its emotional toll on people.
Link to the article picturing the artists work (it’s the first image after the title): https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/painting-palestine-artist-world-remember-homeland
I think this is a great idea for your paper. The same wars in all these different countries desensitizes a lot of people, so seeing this powerful piece really makes a statement on how these people must be feeling. I’m really interested to see how your paper turns out!
The art you chose is very moving and to see how you will use it for the research paper will be very interesting. I think it is really thoughtful to choose a topic that really resonates with you, and by doing so I think this will only help you with your overall paper. Examining art created by those affected by war, especially when they reference it, is important when trying to understand what they experience, as described by your thesis. I think your paper will come out really well and I can’t wait to hear more of the progress you make on it!
I think you’ve chosen a great artwork because it’s one that has many aspects worth looking into and the war conflict reveals more of the secrets hidden in the depths, looking forward to a great piece of writing!
Yes. Fantastic. A piece of art produced under occupation can reveal more to us about the actual “conflict” than any Israeli or Western account. I think you’ve found a great blend for this paper, which I anticipate being equal parts art analysis and social commentary about the cruelty of Israeli apartheid.
I love that you chose this as your artwork. I think this artwork really speaks out about what’s going on today with the war on Ukraine and issues with Gaza.