Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara is a self-taught Palestinian artist who has meticulously worked on archiving the recent histories of the Palestinian people. He was born in 1933 at Al-Dawayima, near Al Khalil (Hebron), in Palestine, and currently lives and works in Amman. Mosallam recreates scenes from daily life in his lost Palestinian home that have remained vivid in his mind since his expulsion from the village of Al-Dawayima in1948.
Mosallam has also produced extensive documentation of the recent 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.
Mosallam didn’t receive training at any institution. Working with a very particular technique, based on painted reliefs, Mosallam recalls from his days in the village scenes of traditions and celebrations, and from his years exile scenes of resistance and fighting.
He worked at the maintenance department of the Jordanian Air Force before joining the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the late 60s, which sent him and his family to Libya. 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 determine 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. Since 1992, he has lived and worked in Amman, Jordan.
Mosallam's subjects reflect his life, he worked while living in the refugee camps, at first in Lebanon and later in Syria.
He worked under the bombing during the siege of Beirut in 1982, and he succeeded in the holding an exhibition in the middle ruins of the city. At that time, his subjects were linked with the feelings and needs of the people who shared that hard life with him. Through his work, Abdul-Hay strengthens 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.
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