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拍品专文
City of Peace (Jerusalem) is a large-scale and evocative painting from the early 1970s that reflects Laila Shawa’s profound emotional connection to her homeland. Rendered in a palette of deep, ethereal tones, the work presents the city of Jerusalem under the glow of a luminous moon, its buildings bathed in soft light and imbued with symbolic stillness. The architecture is stylised and dreamlike, lending the city an almost fairy-tale quality. The composition is meticulously structured, with rhythmic patterns and flattened perspective giving the city a sense of timelessness and serenity. Rather than a literal representation, Shawa offers a symbolic portrait of Jerusalem—a city at once sacred and contested—as a hopeful vision for peace and belonging.
Created during a formative period in Shawa’s practice, City of Peace (Jerusalem) encapsulates many of the themes that would define her broader artistic oeuvre. As a Palestinian woman navigating the turbulent political landscape of the 20th century, Shawa used her art as a platform for expressing longing, resilience, and political urgency. While many of her later works would take on sharper tones of critique, this early painting reflects a quieter, more contemplative hope—one rooted in cultural memory and the enduring presence of place. The romanticised vision of Jerusalem depicted here contrasts with the harsher realities of occupation that Shawa would increasingly highlight in later decades, especially through her use of photography, mixed media, and installation. Nevertheless, this work is deeply political, asserting the right to imagine, belong and voice Palestinian identity through art.
Laila Shawa was a pioneering Palestinian artist, known for her brave persona and fearless commitment to justice through visual expression. Born in Gaza in 1940, she studied at the Leonardo da Vinci School in Cairo before attending the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Rome. Upon returning to Gaza, Shawa worked with UN refugee camps, teaching art and engaging directly with displaced communities—an experience that deeply informed the social themes in her work. In 1987, she relocated to London, where she continued to produce politically charged works addressing topics of exile, gender, occupation, and cultural resistance. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.
Created during a formative period in Shawa’s practice, City of Peace (Jerusalem) encapsulates many of the themes that would define her broader artistic oeuvre. As a Palestinian woman navigating the turbulent political landscape of the 20th century, Shawa used her art as a platform for expressing longing, resilience, and political urgency. While many of her later works would take on sharper tones of critique, this early painting reflects a quieter, more contemplative hope—one rooted in cultural memory and the enduring presence of place. The romanticised vision of Jerusalem depicted here contrasts with the harsher realities of occupation that Shawa would increasingly highlight in later decades, especially through her use of photography, mixed media, and installation. Nevertheless, this work is deeply political, asserting the right to imagine, belong and voice Palestinian identity through art.
Laila Shawa was a pioneering Palestinian artist, known for her brave persona and fearless commitment to justice through visual expression. Born in Gaza in 1940, she studied at the Leonardo da Vinci School in Cairo before attending the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Rome. Upon returning to Gaza, Shawa worked with UN refugee camps, teaching art and engaging directly with displaced communities—an experience that deeply informed the social themes in her work. In 1987, she relocated to London, where she continued to produce politically charged works addressing topics of exile, gender, occupation, and cultural resistance. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.