Ayman Alzraq
Palestinian art has been fed by life experience, place, place peculiarities, memories recalled by one person or a group of people, cultural identity, political atmosphere, and etc. These aspects have influenced the development of how different artists perceived and reproduced their works of art before or while they presented them to the world. As a Palestinian living in Oslo, I have become somewhat of an exile. My artwork has been a realization influenced by reproduced ideas and feelings stemming from my own background as a Palestinian and as an artist, on the one hand and from surroundings and acquaintances on the other hand. Being a Palestinian, one is both cursed and blessed with the deeply rooted urge to deal with what is known as the Palestinian cause. The activist lays in each and every one of us, and as artists, more often than not, choose to utilize the political frustrations into a process of creation, which partially satisfies the need to ‘do something about the situation’, and begin creating a body of work which legitimizes the existence of our people. However, I tend also to utilize my active observation of people’s reflections on their dilemma while I underline the developing style (fashion) of their expression. In other words, people’s narratives, concerns, and themes became a catalyst for my artwork, where I keep feeling myself a part of the whole context. This is clearly translated into the current artwork I am carrying out and other previous works I am presenting hereinafter.