Algerian Artist Brings Back the Killed People in Gaza with his Brushstrokes

Algerian painter and artist Aboulhak Abina draws the faces of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023 to make them visible to the world.

He joined a demonstration in Paris on July 5 calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza. Throughout the protest, he carried two portraits-one depicting Israel’s assault on Gaza and the other of 6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces on Jan. 29, 2024.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Abina said he painted these portraits- each taking about 65 hours to complete-so that the children killed in Gaza's genocide would not be forgotten and so that at least an image of them might remain. He shared that he has been devoted to the Palestinian cause since the age of 13.

Criticizing how the media portrays Israelis and Palestinians in starkly different terms, Abina said: “While Israelis are shown as people who enjoy meals, go to the cinema and love great civilizations," Palestinians- whose land has been stolen- are portrayed as "barbarians."

In response to this narrative, Abina decided to create these works of art. “I wanted to make these pieces to say Palestine exists, and whether they like it or not, it will continue to exist.”

Abina accused the French government, President Emmanuel Macron and various foreign governments and media outlets of being directly or indirectly complicit in the genocide in Gaza. “What’s happening is a genocide. And the worst part is that so many states are collaborating,” he said.

He added that he is working with a collective of artists to organize an exhibition that would include portraits of men and women killed in Gaza.'Genocidal murderers killed this child' Abina also painted a portrait of Hind Rajab. “Genocidal murderers killed this child,” he said.

Noting that the moment of Rajab’s death was recorded, he said: “I wanted to represent those moments through art because this little girl stands for all the Palestinian children who have died and whose names and faces are never shown in European media.”

Referring to Europeans, Abina said: “They have unresolved issues over what they did to the Jews during World War II, and Palestinians have absolutely nothing to do with those atrocities.”

He stressed that people of conscience cannot allow the genocide in Gaza to continue and that every available tool-art, cinema, literature- must be used to make the faces of the victims visible.

Abina, who said he wanted to make people reflect with his paintings depicting Israel's attacks on Gaza, explained that in one of the pieces he drew, he included various figures such as a Gazan doctor, a journalist and a mother carrying her child in her arms.

He also included powerful symbols such as the cartoon character Handala, the “key of return” symbolizing the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland, an olive branch representing peace, and a school notebook symbolizing “the innocence killed in Gaza.”

Through his artwork, Abina aims to provoke thought and awareness. In one of his drawings, he included a variety of figures - a Gazan doctor, a journalist, a mother carrying her child - alongside symbolic elements like the key of return (a symbol of Palestinian right of return), the olive branch (a symbol of peace), a school notebook representing lost innocence and the iconic Hanzala figure - a symbol of Palestinian resistance.