The Eternal by Saher Nassar – Limited Edition Print

Saher Nassar pays tribute to renowned Palestinian caricaturist Naji al-Ali, honoring his courage and unwavering commitment to freedom of expression. Al-Ali was fearless in his art, using it to criticize the Israeli occupation—a boldness that ultimately led to his assassination in London in 1987. Al-Ali is best known for his iconic character Handala, a barefoot Palestinian boy with his back turned to the world, forever frozen at the age he was exiled from his homeland.

Handala became a powerful symbol of resistance and enduring outrage in the face of injustice, instantly recognizable to every Palestinian. In homage, Nassar reimagines Handala as a figure divided between mortality and eternity, capturing both the suffering and the timeless spirit of the Palestinian cause. As Al-Ali once wrote: “I presented him to the poor and named him ‘Handala’ as a symbol of bitterness. At first, he was a Palestinian child, but finally, his consciousness developed to have a national and then a global and human horizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adopted him and felt that he represents their consciousness.”