Palestinian photographer exposes memory of those killed in conflict

SP Biennial: Palestinian photographer exposes memory of those killed in conflict
The work Death, by Palestinian photographer Ahlam Shibli, is one of the works that make up the 35th São Paulo Art Biennial. The series of 68 photographs shows how the memory of those who died fighting for Palestine is preserved. The photographs were taken from 2011 to 2012, in the Nablus region, including refugee camps, north of the West Bank. Entry to the exhibition is free. The photos of the "martyrs", as described by the artist herself in the text that contextualizes the work, appear in different places, from tombstones in cemeteries to in photo frames fixed on the sofa in the family's living room. In some images, young people hold weapons; in others, there are no apparent signs of war.

Those incarcerated are remembered with images of letters sent from prison. The texts appear decorated with flowers and hearts. Artist Ahlam Shibli has been working with documentary aesthetics since the 1990s. Born in 1970, in Palestine, she produced several series portraying aspects of the conflict that affect the population of her country. She also investigated topics such as immigrants in Germany and the colonial traumas of France, a country that experienced resistance to Nazism and in the following decades promoted bloody wars against territories that escaped its domination.
"Only crying and screaming keeps me breathing. I don't even know if it even makes sense to breathe anymore," the artist told Agência Brasil at the end of October, in brief words via email, when commenting on the horrors of the war between Israel and Palestine. The most recent conflict, which began 2 months ago, has already killed more than 16,000 people in Gaza. The number of Israeli victims exceeds 1,200, the majority in the October 7 attack.
Ahlam said she was "extremely shocked" by the developments in the war in the Middle East, especially the attacks on hospitals. The World Health Organization (WHO) counts 236 attacks on health services in the West Bank since the beginning of October, with the escalation of Israel's attacks on the region, with data updated until December 7.