In a powerful artistic response to the horrific events unfolding in Gaza, Koel Gallery unveiled ‘Olive Branch’ on January 30 — an exhibition curated by Nafisa Rizvi. The timing was scarily poignant, as it coincided with the continued carnage of over 200 Palestinians being killed within a mere 24 hours and Gaza being left without a single fully-functioning hospital.

Through the diverse mediums of drawings, paintings, mixed media and installations, 23 renowned Pakistani artists, including Salima Hashmi, Naazish Ataullah, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Naiza Khan, Moeen Faruqi, Adeela Suleman, Abdul Jabbar Gull, Hamra Abbas, Munawar Ali Syed, Mahreen Zuberi, Madiha Hyder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, Sadia Salim, Affan Baghpati and others, channel their grief and outrage against the genocidal frenzy plaguing Gaza.

Rizvi aptly notes, “Olive Branch documents the Gaza genocide in the language and syntax that artists know best,” with all proceeds from the exhibition earmarked for the people of Palestine.

Staying true to the exhibition’s theme, Hamra Abbas’s Plant Studies 1 stands out — a lapis lazuli olive branch set in marble, inspired by a tree from the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. The artist brought it from there in 2019 and it now grows in her house in Lahore. The cobalt blue hues elegantly showcase the delicate leaves.

Some of Pakistan’s finest artists respond to the heartache of the genocide unfolding in Palestine

Salima Hashmi’s Family – I is a moving mixed media piece with a large dab of red right in the middle. It depicts a disfigured and dismembered human family that, according to the artist, is on the verge of extinction and is surrounded by hints of olive trees, hovering clouds with rain drops covering the scene, and the distant dome of Al Aqsa.

Naazish Ataullah’s Pause is a striking blue and black digital print of gauze (incidentally, the word gauze comes from the Arabic word Ghazza), symbolising a plea to halt the horrifying acts of death and destruction.

Noorjehan Bilgrami in her statement explores Gaza’s historical significance in trade routes and weaving skills. She has placed a piece of indigo dyed gauze in her etching and woodcut pressures print on paper titled Each Grain of Sand has a Story Embedded — I. Bilgrami is a painter and a pioneer in the preservation of the craft traditions of Pakistan, spearheading the revival of hand-block printing on fabrics and the use of natural dyes, in particular indigo.

Naiza Khan’s City Wall is part of a series that she began back in 2015 “as a response to the movement of refugees coming to Europe, escaping war, climate disaster and persecution.” In this abstract cartographic watercolour work, Khan is pointing at the intertwined narratives and temporal dimensions that reveals that, akin to individuals, architecture and objects also possess distinct lives and memories.

Adeela Suleman’s Crimson Horizon is a large horizontal inkjet print mural divided into several triangular modules framed in wood. This abstract depiction of the bloodshed, by depicting the sky crimson-coloured and the turquoise water representing the countless lives lost, “their bodies eerily entombed in mass graves beneath the sea”, is a captivating display.

Abdul Jabbar Gull’s Hands Up has three panels, made in brass and gold leaf, which question humanity’s response to the ongoing genocide, asking whether we will put our hands up in defeat or stand against it. “Time will tell,” Gull says, although time is now running out.

In his signature style, the poet and artist Moeen Faruqi’s painting in acrylic on canvas is titled 10,000 Angels. It is a representation of the thousands of Palestinian children lost, accompanied by a heart-wrenching poetic statement.

Speaking of poetry, the exhibition’s inaugural event featured veteran actor and director Khalid Ahmed reading powerful poems by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmad Faraz and Pablo Neruda, echoing the criminality and genocidal frenzy. The event also included this writer reading three of her short poems, contributing to the collective voice against this topography of terror.

‘Olive Branch’ was on display at Koel Gallery in Karachi from January 30-February 10, 2024

Rumana Husain is a writer, artist and educator. She is the author of two coffee-table books on Karachi, and has authored and illustrated over 60 children’s books

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 11th, 2024