Exhibition showcases Palestinian artists

(7 Mar 2016) LEAD IN:
Contemporary Palestinian artists are taking part in an exhibition in Paris.
The Arab World Institute is hosting work by four people which tackles the idea of 'space'.

STORY-LINE:
Box upon box: dozens of them, even hundreds of them.
This is 'Otherwise Occupied', an installation by the Palestinian artist Bashir Makhoul.
And his cardboard boxes can be moved and written on by gallery visitors.
Makhoul created this in 2013 but now it's part of a special exhibition of Palestinian artists at the Arab World Institute.
It's curated by Shereen Suleiman who says the theme is 'space'.
"Palestinians' space has been reduced day by day. And now it's only small spaces, small districts spread apart, which prevents the creation of a Palestinian state from a geographical point of view."
"So we thought that from this point of view, how Palestinians - and especially Palestinians artists through their creations - how they manage to free themselves from the limits that are imposed by the occupation, to create a whole new space, an imaginary Palestinian State."
She says exhibitions like this are an important way of documenting life as a Palestinian.
"Palestine has to exist thanks to its stories, its everyday life, to explain to people how Palestinians are living in the occupation and not how the media is portraying it. So in that sense, I think that the impact is a success (here)," Suleiman explains.
Three other artists are also displaying their work at this exhibition.
Khaled Jarrar's Whole in the Wall' includes video and a wall that runs through the gallery.
Larissa Sansour's 'Nation Estate' imagines a future for Palestinians where their longed-for state is created inside one huge, high-rise building.
But Dutch tourist Aria Deelen actually approves of the dystopian fantasy.
"I think it gives a positive picture of how it could be. How it could be a normal way of living," he says.
An installation by Shadi Al Zaqzouq represents Palestinians as moles, burrowing through the land to rise up from the ground.
Paris resident Daniele Le Roy is visiting the exhibition with her daughter.
"What is true is that the image we have of Palestine is war. The war, this wall which is really well expressed here, this is the main idea we have of it."
"So it's really nice to see that several people have managed to express themselves about it (in an artistic way)," she says.
The exhibition runs until 20 March.

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