Not Numbers by Yazan Abu Salameh

Not Numbers by Yazan Abu Salameh: The project launched by Zawyeh Gallery, ‘Posters for Gaza’ aims to shed light on the ethnic cleansing and horrific massacres inflicted on the Gaza Strip demanding cease fire and the recognition of Palestinian rights to live freely on their land with dignity.

Representing a long tradition in Palestinian history, political posters were produced extensively in the seventies and the eighties by the Palestinian Liberation Organization with the contribution of Palestinian, Arab, and international artists. Posters played a crucial role then in supporting the justice of the Palestinian cause and promoting it globally, guided by freedom, dignity, resilience, and the ongoing aspiration for independence, sought by Palestinians.

Yazan Abu Salameh was born in 1993 in Jerusalem. He studied Fine Arts at Dar Al-Kalima University in Bethlehem in 2011 and participated in several workshops including scenography at Al-Quds College in Beit Jala. He taught art at several community centers including the center at Aidya Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. He participated in two group exhibitions with his graduation project, the first was organized in Bethlehem in 2013, and the second in Amman organized by the Jordanian-Iraqi Center in 2014.

Abu Salameh’s artworks reflect the courage of a young artist in terms of the use and distribution of materials on the surface of his artworks. He uses a mixture of concrete, pebbles, and wires mixed with Lego blocks and drawings. His concrete artworks can be seen as miniature maps that reflect remnants of childhood memories, present concrete blockades, and watch tours as well as Palestinian neighborhoods from a bird’s eye view.