During the month of November, Rehab Nazzal held an exhibition titled “On Borrowed Time in Gaza: Art in Confinement” at the Monica Reyes Gallery in Vancouver, Canada.
The paintings and drawings displayed were collected from six Palestinian artists based in Gaza: Maisara Baroud, Majdal Nateel, Ghanem Al-Den, Rufaida Sehwail, Mohammed Alhaj, and Maha Daya.
Nazzal has long been known for such work. The artist was born in Palestine and is now working in Toronto as a multidisciplinary artist. In her profile with 221A, it is stated that she focuses her work on “The effect of settler-colonial violence on the bodies and minds of colonized peoples and on the land and other non-human life.”
Nazzal received her Ph.D. in Art and Visual Culture from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. She also attained a Master of Fine Arts degree from Ryerson University in Toronto and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ottawa.
She has held multiple solo and group exhibitions across Canada and globally. And here again, in 2021, Nazzal carried the artwork in her suitcase as she traveled through the Rafah crossing.
The exhibition totaled 200 drawings and paintings from the Gazan artists. What is special about the latter is that Gaza has been under a land, air, and sea blockade since 2007, physically distancing them from the rest of the world. The difficulty in transporting mere artwork outside of Gaza demonstrates the severity of the blockade. Therefore, making artwork and sharing it with the rest of the world has become a form of resistance that Palestinians engage inconsistently and for which Nazzal has become famous.
In Nazzal’s profile, the Monica Reyes Gallery wrote, “The exhibition represents expressions from life in Gaza by six Palestinian artists, whose works defy a brutal Israeli blockade imposed on over two million Palestinians.”
“Crossing states’ boundaries and aerial spaces to reach Turtle Island, the works affirm Palestinian hope, persistence, endurance, and love of art and life… [and] are a testament of the power of art, the power of imagination under bombardment, and aspiration for a just and peaceful life in a forsaken world,” they continued.
This is not the first time that Nazzal makes headlines and sparks attention on the international scene. In fact, her previous 2014 exhibition “Invisible” - displayed at the Karsh-Masson Gallery in Ottawa, Canada - was subject to controversy after Israel’s ambassador to Canada called for its removal.
Also, in 2015, while photographing the use of skunk water by the Israeli forces, Nazzal was shot in the leg by an Israeli sniper. Commenting on the events, Nazzal stipulated that “This was not an accident.”
Notwithstanding the dangers she has faced, Nazzal still makes sure to leave an impact after any event she holds. This time, as part of her newest exhibition, 100% of the sales will be contributed to the artists. Furthermore, proceeds from the artwork made by children will go towards art therapy programs for children in Gaza.