Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara (10 March 1933 – 1 August 2020) was a self-taught Palestinian artist who worked meticulously on archiving the recent histories of the Palestinian people. He was born in 1933 at
Al-Dawayima
Al-Dawayima, Dawaymeh or Dawayma ( ar, الدوايمة) was a Palestinian town, located in the former Hebron Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, and in what is now the Lakhish region, some 15 kilometres south-east of Kiryat Gat.Zafrir Rinat‘Bu ...
, near Al Khalil (
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
), in Palestine, and latterly lived and worked in Amman. Mosallam recreated scenes from daily life in his lost Palestinian home that remained vivid in his mind since his expulsion from the village of Al-Dawayima in
1948. Mosallam also produced extensive documentation of the Palestinian struggle and liberation movements in the form of painted reliefs. This “painted archive” corpus is valid as a first representation of a community writing its own history and not just showcasing it as a collection of images.
Biography
Mosallam did not receive artistic training at any institution. Working with a very particular technique, based on painted reliefs, Mosallam recalled from his days in the village scenes of traditions and celebrations, and from his years in exile scenes of resistance and fighting. He worked at the maintenance department of the
Jordanian Air Force
The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces.
History
Early days
Jordan gained independence in 1 ...
before joining the
Palestinian Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and ...
(PLO) in the late 1960s, which sent him and his family to
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
. While in Libya, Mosallam learned his special technique and turned to art. The hard conditions of life in the Diaspora, the struggle for Palestine, direct and artistic militance, are all factors which determined Mosallam's artistic production in both subject matter and technique. For many years he had his studio in the Palestinian quarter of
Damascus, still called “the Yarmouh Camp”, together with the late Palestinian artist
Mustafa Al Hallaj. From 1992 until his death in 2020 he lived and worked in Amman, Jordan.
Mosallam's subjects reflect his life, he worked while living in the refugee camps, at first in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
and later in
Syria. He worked under bombardment during the
siege of Beirut
The siege of Beirut took place in summer 1982, as part of the 1982 Lebanon War, which resulted from the breakdown of the ceasefire effected by the United Nations. The siege ended with the Palestinian Liberation Organization being forced out of Bei ...
in 1982, and he succeeded in holding an exhibition in the midst of the ruins of the city. At that time, his subjects were linked with the feelings and needs of the people who shared this hard life with him. Through his work, Abdul-Hay strengthened the resistance of a people who are struggling on all levels to survive. His paintings depict the life of the
Palestinians – the village weddings,
Ramadan nights, gatherings, farmers and traditional dancers, all vividly painted on detailed reliefs and inscribed with traditional songs and poems. In the works of Mosallam, the woman appears almost as the reason for life for the man. She embraces the man, often a palm tree at whose roots a man is seated playing music for her. At other times, she is a boat, naked, with long hair, carrying the man. Always, the woman appears stronger than the man as if the artist is going against the current, challenging the subordinate role of women in the
Arab World
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
.
Technique
Mosallam used very simple tools and materials in line with the sparseness of his life as an exile and a fighter. A mixture of glue and sawdust makes up the reliefs. The paintings are very finely detailed, he sculpted the most minute details of body and face features. In 1986, a film, “Gold Dust”, was made by Mohammad Mawas on his works. The title of the film points to the contrasts between the poverty of the raw materials and the value of their transformation in the artist’s work.
Artistic Value
Mosallam's work is a complete archive of Palestine's heritage and struggle. His work is well known in the Arab countries where he had more than 30 solo exhibitions, and participated in a great number of collective exhibitions with Arab and international artists. His work was shown in solo and group exhibitions including two in Libya (1978), six exhibitions in Damascus, one in Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, Mesyaf and Dair Attieh between 1981 and 1991. While living and exhibiting in Beirut (1980-1982) one of the exhibitions of his work was held during the 1982 siege of Beirut under the bombardment taking place on Fakahani street in west Beirut. There were many exhibitions in Amman at Darat Al Funun, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, and Dar Al Anda, and in Ibrbid, Jerash and other cities, including in Tehran, Gutenberg, Helsinki and Stockholm (1983), Oslo (1981), Zurich and Bern (1990), and Houston (2003). He also exhibited at the "
Jean Genet" show at
Nottingham Contemporary
Nottingham Contemporary (formerly known as the Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham (CCAN)) is a contemporary art centre in the Lace Market area of Nottingham. The gallery opened in 2009.
The gallery describes its site as being "the oldest in ...
(2011), the
Sharjah Biennial
The Sharjah Biennial is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The first Sharjah Biennial took place in 1993, and was organized by the Sharjah Department of Cul ...
(2015), "Here and Elsewhere" at the
New Museum
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker, is a museum in New York City at 235 Bowery, on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
History
The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-named New Sch ...
(2014), and at "Index of Tensional and Unintentional Love of Land" curated by
Ala Younis
Ala Younis is a research-based artist and curator, based in Amman. Younis initiates journeys in archives and narratives, and reinterprets collective experiences that have collapsed into personal ones. Through research, she builds collections of ...
who has been working closely with the artist since 2003 on documenting his work, and on indexing, archiving and digitizing his legacy. His artwork was also featured in the Palestinian art exhibition in the U.S. at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, Texas in an exhibition titled: "Made in Palestine" ; curated by Gabriel Diego Delgado and Tex Kerschen under the Directorship of Jim Harithas.
His artistic value has been recognized by American and European critics and journalists who wrote about his works in various magazines. In addition to his ongoing work, Abdul Hay dreamed of establishing a museum – not only for his own works and not only to collect works from the past, but as a place where one could house the present aspirations of his people.
Together with 33 Japanese artists, he participated in an exhibition in Tokyo about the
Sabra and Shatila massacre
The Sabra and Shatila massacre (also known as the Sabra and Chatila massacre) was the killing of between 460 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites, by the militia of the Lebanese Forces, a Maronite Christian Lebanese ...
, and many of his works have been employed internationally as posters, calendars and postcards.
Bibliography
In 2006, a publication on a selection of traditional works by Abdul Hay Mosallam was compiled by artist
Ala Younis
Ala Younis is a research-based artist and curator, based in Amman. Younis initiates journeys in archives and narratives, and reinterprets collective experiences that have collapsed into personal ones. Through research, she builds collections of ...
and printed in Amman. The monograph titled "Palestinian Tradition in the Works of Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara" included contextual texts written by Mosallam on what he called "The Tradition Series" مسلسل التراث. Produced in Arabic, English and German, the publication also included images from the artist's archive, press clippings, traditional songs, as well as texts by Sally Bland and Ahmed Zreik.
2001 Exhibition catalog of "Made in Palestine", published by the Ineri Foundation with partnership of the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, Texas.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosallam Zarara, Abdul Hay
1933 births
2020 deaths
Palestinian artists
People from Amman
Self-taught artists
Palestinian painters