‘Even if You Painted a Watermelon’ — The Palestinian Artists Who Inspired Resistance

The visual language of art that proclaims cultural identity and protests oppression

This article is dedicated to the memory of the artist Fathi Ghaben.

Great appreciation is extended to Sliman Mansour for his time reading this article and rectifying any errors. The subsequent story serves as a testament to the unwavering artistic and humanitarian resilience exhibited by Mansour and all Palestinian artists.

Note: The focus of this article is aspects of art history; its content is informational and non-partisan, considering the importance of symbols in cultural iconography and the visual language of protest art. In no way does the text of this article condone or excuse acts of violence and aggression, especially against civilians on any side of any conflict. It is emphatically anti-war and pro-peace.

Walking across Bristol Downs early this year, I saw kites.
A lot of them.

Many of the kites were homemade out of lengths of wood and painted paper. Together they danced around each other, flashes of colour against a grey British January sky. I have childhood memories of flying kites on the exact same spot, and the nostalgic memory made me smile as I walked towards the group of kite flyers. A set of colours stood out from each kite: red, green…