Algerian artist transforms Gaza’s pain into powerful portraits

ISTANBUL (AA) : Algerian painter and artist Aboulhak Abina has been drawing the faces of Palestinians killed in Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023. His goal is to ensure the victims, especially children, are not forgotten and are seen as individuals, not statistics.

On July 5, Abina participated in a demonstration held in Paris, France, under the slogan “Stop the Genocide in Gaza.” Throughout the protest, he carried two portraits depicting the brutal reality of Israel’s assaults on Gaza. One of the portraits featured Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli army on Jan. 29, 2024.

Art as resistance

Abina told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he spent about 65 hours completing the two artworks. His efforts are part of a larger commitment to the Palestinian cause, which he said began when he was just 13 years old.

The Algerian artist condemned the global media’s tendency to portray Israelis positively while depicting Palestinians in a biased and dehumanizing way. “While Israelis are shown as cultured people who enjoy cinema and fine dining, Palestinians – whose land has been stolen – are depicted as barbarians,” he said.

In response to this disparity, Abina decided to create these works. “I made these pieces to say: ‘Palestine exists, whether they want it to or not, it will continue to exist.’”

Abina condemned the complicity of various governments and media outlets, particularly that of France and President Emmanuel Macron, in what he described as a genocide in Gaza. “Palestinians are being annihilated. The worst part is that so many states are complicit,” he stated.

He is currently working with a collective of artists to organize an exhibition that will showcase portraits of the men and women who have been killed in Gaza, aiming to bring visibility to the ongoing atrocities.

Face of murdered child

One of Abina’s most emotional works is a portrait of Hind Rajab, the 6-year-old girl whose death was recorded and widely circulated. “Genocidal murderers killed this child,” he said. “I wanted to represent her because she stands for all the Palestinian children who are dying – children whose names and faces are never shown in European media.”

Abina also pointed to Europe’s historical guilt over the Holocaust, asserting, “Europeans have unresolved issues regarding what they did to Jews during World War II. But Palestinians bear no responsibility for those crimes.”

Art as moral obligation

Emphasizing the role of conscience, Abina stated, “As people with a conscience, we cannot allow this genocide to continue. We must use every tool available – art, cinema, literature – to make the faces of the victims visible.”

Through his artwork, Abina aims to provoke thought and awareness. In one of his drawings, he included a variety of figures – a Gazan doctor, a journalist, a mother carrying her child – alongside symbolic elements like the key of return (a symbol of Palestinian right of return), the olive branch (a symbol of peace), a school notebook representing lost innocence and the iconic Hanzala figure – a symbol of Palestinian resistance.