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Lot Essay
Born in Al-Dawayima, Palestine in 1933, Abdulhay Musallam Zarara was a self-taught artist whose deeply expressive body of work stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the Palestinian people. His practice, rich in memory, cultural symbolism, and political urgency, was shaped by both the idyllic rural life of his early childhood and the effect of his exile in 1948, during which his village was the site of a massacre. Forced into exile at the age of fifteen, Zarara’s identity as a refugee became the cornerstone of his artistic and ideological journey.
It was not until the age of thirty-nine that Zarara began to paint. He developed a highly original technique: acrylic paint applied over a textured base of sawdust and glue, giving his works a sculptural, tactile quality. This distinctive method imbues each piece with a three-dimensional presence, transforming his paintings into vivid, almost physical recollections of place, people, and collective struggle.
Emerging at a time when questions of national identity and cultural resistance were central to Palestinian art, Zarara’s oeuvre resonated with a unique urgency. His work became a means of preserving memory, documenting tradition, and advocating for resistance, while also celebrating Palestinian life with vibrant depictions of village scenes, folklore, and everyday rituals.
Over the course of his lifetime, Zarara created nearly 600 works, making his practice not only prolific but also politically and culturally vital. Each piece serves as a visual archive of loss and resilience and a powerful artistic response to dispossession.
His art, both ideologically driven and aesthetically distinct, occupies a singular place in the canon of modern Arab art, embodying the role of the artist as both witness and warrior in the face of exile and erasure.
It was not until the age of thirty-nine that Zarara began to paint. He developed a highly original technique: acrylic paint applied over a textured base of sawdust and glue, giving his works a sculptural, tactile quality. This distinctive method imbues each piece with a three-dimensional presence, transforming his paintings into vivid, almost physical recollections of place, people, and collective struggle.
Emerging at a time when questions of national identity and cultural resistance were central to Palestinian art, Zarara’s oeuvre resonated with a unique urgency. His work became a means of preserving memory, documenting tradition, and advocating for resistance, while also celebrating Palestinian life with vibrant depictions of village scenes, folklore, and everyday rituals.
Over the course of his lifetime, Zarara created nearly 600 works, making his practice not only prolific but also politically and culturally vital. Each piece serves as a visual archive of loss and resilience and a powerful artistic response to dispossession.
His art, both ideologically driven and aesthetically distinct, occupies a singular place in the canon of modern Arab art, embodying the role of the artist as both witness and warrior in the face of exile and erasure.