Ζωγράφοι από την Παλαιστίνη: Laila Shawa

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Laila Shawa (Palestine-UK), Children of war, children of peace, silkscreen on canvas in two parts

In this two-part work Laila Shawa highlights the plight of Palestinian children. She takes as her subject a young boy from the Sheikh Radwan refugee camp in Gaza, who has been photographed carrying a stick. His image is repeated against differently coloured backgrounds.

In 1993 it seemed that the new potential for peace following the signing of the Oslo Agreement would change the situation of the Palestinian refugees, particularly the lives of children. However, as the artist explains:

‘Unfortunately there has been no change in these children’s lives and the trauma and dispossession has carried on. The only apparent difference in the streets of Gaza was the change in the colour of the graffiti which became brighter. However the misery, poverty and the trauma of violence remained.’ (Artist’s statement to the curator)

The brightness of the second image suggests this slight note of optimism but ultimately the lack of change. The graffiti seen in the background was sprayed on Gaza’s streets by rival groups. It has merged and been rendered illegible, making it an evocative reminder of the context in which it was done.

Shawa studied at the Leonardo School of Art, Cairo, before graduating in fine arts from the Accademia de Belle Arti in Rome. Her work comprises oils on canvas, photographs and silkscreens as well as designs for stained-glass windows at the Cultural Centre in Gaza. She also created a series of works based around graffiti called Walls of Gaza.http://www.britishmuseum.org

Laila Shawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Laila al Shawa)

Laila Shawa (Born Gaza 1940) is a Palestinian artist. Her work has been described as reflecting a view of the politics of her country highlighting perceived injustices and persecution. Often her work uses photographs that are used as the base for silkscreen printing. Her work has been internationally exhibited and has work on display in many public (e.g. The British Museum) and private collections.[1][2][3][4]

In 2012 to go alongside the AKA Peace Exhibition at the ICA [5] Art Below showcased selected works from the AKA Peace series on the London Underground including Shawa’s. “AKA Peace” originally conceived by photographer Bran Symondson and now curated by artist Jake Chapman, is an exhibition of new works made specially for The Peace One Day Project 2012, bringing together a group of Contemporary Artists, all of whom agreed to transform a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle, refashioning into artworks.[6]

She is the daughter of Rashad al-Shawa, mayor of Gaza.