Fathi Ghaben, Palestinian artist and educator, died on 25 February 2024 after being denied exit from Gaza by Israeli authorities. He was seeking treatment for his severe lung problems which Gaza’s decimated healthcare system could no longer provide. His case is tragically not unique: there are an estimated 10,000 cancer patients and 70,000 wounded currently needing care.
Ghaben was a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and his artwork must be appreciated through this lens. Born in 1947 in the tranquil vigil of Herbia, he was only one year old when he experienced his first taste of displacement. “I am, in a strange way” he reminisced to the Palestine Chronicle “proud that I was alive during the hell of 1947.” Ghaben’s memories of the “Nakba”, violent displacement of 750,000 Palestinians from 1947-48, are present throughout his work. He painted old villages, traditional wear, and weaved the key emblematising the right of return for Palestinians through many of his pieces. Most of all he depicted resilience, forcibly entrenched in Palestinian national identity from decades of oppression.
Palestinian history and culture adopt a deeply human touch through Ghaben’s brush. “My paintings are not filled with smiles,” he said, “they are not loud, gaudy or without a deep thought.” He showcased the people as they are: a village, a street and, sometimes, an uprising. His art celebrated the everyday beauty of this vast and prevailing culture. One painting depicts a woman working in a field. She wears traditional apparel, her stature is held high, and the sun rising in the background gives an air of tranquillity. Yet she appears tense: her eyes are focused on something we cannot see. Another painting depicts a more demure woman, face partly covered and baking traditional bread. Again, she comes to life through her gaze, which is softer yet distant. His most famous pieces allude to the Intifadas (uprisings) and earned him multiple trips to Israeli prisons. Accused of inciting violence, his capture during the Second Intifada spurred protest on the right to artistic freedom. “I yearn to express myself through art” he explained, “my paintings are reflecting my soul, a mental, social and national deep ocean of passion and compassion”.
Ghaben was a firm believer that art is meant to be shared. He pioneered art education in Gaza, teaching for 13 years at the recently destroyed Islamic University of Gaza. He was a founder of the Association of Fine Artists and Artists in Gaza and the Fathi Ghaben Centre of Arts and was awarded the Order of Culture, Science and Arts on the Creativity Level amongst many accolades. His artwork was exposed not only in Palestine, but in many Arab and Western countries. He taught with passion, restricted only by resources “I cannot really afford to buy paints and tools” he highlighted. Financial struggles followed Ghaben from the cradle to the grave. Having to drop out of school to help feed his family at the age of 15, he started making commercial designs to sell in Israel to make ends meet. He found the experience unpleasant and moved back to working in Gaza as soon as he could afford a home in Jabalyia refugee camp, where he spent the rest of his life. “I believe the colours appropriate for our life in Jabaliya” he said, “[…] are the warm, dark and the earthly colours – with a grasp of hope, maybe half of that dark brown, dark blue, but with orange, yellow and a mixture of white and yellow”.
Looking back at the history of this conflict, it is hard to grasp how much of it has happened in one man’s lifetime. Ghaben lived through the Nakba, the occupation then siege of Gaza, the first and second intifada and the current atrocities. Through it all, he stood for justice, freedom, education, and most of all, for the Palestinian people. “I consider myself a bright light” he once said “a burning candle in regards to the struggle of the Palestinian people”. He used his art to help them live on, and now survives in the souls of the many he moved.
Illustration of Fathi Ghaben by Regan Donovan