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A
Review of the exhibition: From Sabra and Shatila.. to Indpendence?
May, 1999
The May 1999 show at Darat Al-Funun in Jordan is made up of sets of
graphic
works and paintings. The images are variations on the theme of
tyranny and
oppression. In one set of nineteen ink drawings, we see heaps of
massacred
humanity. At each heap there is a small event which crowns the
horror. For
example a figure in screaming anguish, or a woman holding a baby and
gesturing for help, or an old man pulling a dead youth out of the
heap, or a
youth pulling an old man, or two children walking away, or a face
staring out of
the pile at the crescent moon is the event dramatized by the
background of
horror.
In one of them an oversized truck runs over the mass of dead bodies
as took
place in the massacre at Sabra and Shatila camps. Hanging at one end
of the
set is one work which is most powerful. In it two old women, etched
like
African sculptures in a Picasso-like manner, stand with faces of
wild tigers and
arms dangling helplessly over a heap of dead. Over this entire scene
is a set
of thick heavily entwined roots with nasty fingers probing the dead
to suck
their juices.
In Yahya’s work there is no nobility. These are not specific
pictures of
particular events. Rather, these paintings are expressions of an
idea of
tyranny. To create this, Yahya standardized his forms and indulged
in a
detailed illusion of distortion, disintegration, and decay.
Most of the paintings are in grays with color reserved for blood and
floral
offerings. In these paintings, the martyred dead lie heavily on the
backs of the
pathetic crowd. Two notable sets of paintings enhance the show, One
is of
faces in pain and the other is of faces of Tyrants in decay. Yahya
creates an
illusion of the mucky color and texture which articulate the giant
heads of
tyrants. His skill is apparent in the totally visual differentiation
between the
loathsome faces of the tyrants and the painful expression in the
heads of
victims.
At first one is frightened at the depressing truth that seems to be
revealed. An
aimless pathetic existence intermingled with depression and defeat.
Those
who find the fright unbearable will replace it with anger, which
then they
probably will direct at the artist. Others might accept that this is
one face of
the current state of retreat in the Arab World and courageously
continue their
inspection.
It is justified to wonder if this is painting at the leading edge.
The questions to
be asked are those of how we see society and not of how we
understand
avant-garde painting. These are painting of social commentary. Yahya
allows
us to decide the precise parameters of who the tyrant is and who the
oppressed.
There are but a few symbols of a national nature to identify the
characters.
But the allusions are clearly to the Arab World and there is no
mistaking the
oppression of Palestinians by Israelis in this work. We see a
consistently
depressing scene with only a whimper of resistance. The rich heroism
of the
Palestinian refugee camp is absent. Only the pain of life of those
who suffer is
presented.
Thus, the work is narrowly focussed in attitude and content. The
graphic work
is in all respects more successful than the painting. Both rely on
the history of
painting of social commentary. To his credit, Yahya seems to be
aware of the
historical currents in social realism. Many such allusions to this
history are
visible in his work including particularly the work of Heironymus
Bosch,
Francisco Goya, and Kathe Kollwitz. His references and his
expressive
ambitions are international.
Samia
Halaby is a painter, artist/programmer, and writer. She was born in
Jerusalem, Palestine in 1936. She now lives and works in New York
City. Her paintings have been exhibited internationally and are
represented in many museum collections.
Ms.
Halaby gave Jerusalemites permission to reprint this article from
her Website, and can be found at the following address:
http://art.net/~samia/pal/palart/yahya/yahya.html
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