Art and Oppression: Palestine and the Reclamation of Contested Space

By Daniel Filippi

The opinions expressed in this article reflect the opinions of its author(s). They do not represent the views of the UCL International Relations Society, Circum Mundum, or its Editorial Team.

When people talk about Palestine, the pleas for help are universally heard in the form of international recognition and support. The #FreePalestine movement has seen a resurgence this past year, with global media attention and public sympathy gravitating towards humanitarian emergencies. With this in mind, this article focuses on an often neglected aspect of the way the Palestinian people rouse activism and foster awareness in a nonviolent and tangible manner; the use of graffiti and street art on the contentious separation wall in the West Bank.

The wall, built by Israel to delineate between their settlements and Palestinian land, is a contested space and has been formidably re-appropriated by Palestinians to act as a mirror. A mirror insofar that it forces introspection into their use of violent resistance – thereby fostering renewed solidarity by conflating culture, identity, and hopes of self-determination into a sense of shared struggle. The infamous ‘apartheid’ wall in the West Bank has historically been a flash point for volatility and rising tensions, with the Israeli military and Palestinians sporadically coming at odds with one another. The crux of the issue is that the wall is meant to underscore the power dynamic between the two sides – and notably, this imposing figure haunts those forced into its subjugation and imparts a spectre of fear unto them. More than anything, the wall is a symbol – a symbol of Israeli power and dominance. It makes the power imbalances apparent through its perpetual presence next to Palestinians’ day-to-day lives, its hindrances to free movement, and most importantly, its encroachment on Palestinian land. This understanding brings into focus the significance of the wall’s appropriation and transformation at the hands of the Palestinians. Violent Israeli infringement on Palestinian territory is met by nonviolent reclamation, and I hope to convince you that this is a pivotal step forward in Palestine’s decades-old plight.

The story of the wall can be juxtaposed with the story of the very conflict at which it finds itself at heart. It must be said, however, that Palestine and Israel have a long and shared history of violence, and it is impossible to capture the sheer depth of the conflict in a single piece. Still, one aspect of the conflict remains constant: Western media’s compulsion to depict and sensationalise violent narratives typified by Palestinian aggression. While some may argue that this is a grand oversimplification, undoubtedly, media narratives tend to misconstrue context in an attempt to present distorted headlines. This has the effect of capturing readership, inextricably at the cost of Palestine’s global public image. This isn’t to say that media outlets are biased towards Israel; however, focusing on violence and discord marginalises Palestinian perspectives and voices, which are primarily nonviolent.

The most salient and poignant example of this can be found in how predominantly Western media outlets covered the siege of Gaza in 2014. Rashid Khalidi, a revered American-Palestinian scholar, recounts that news outlets were responsible for the dissemination of ‘false narratives whereby what was underway in the Gaza Strip was a righteous response to terrorist rocket fire’. Khalidi argues that, whilst neither side is absolved of wrongdoing, it would appear easier to place the responsibility of instigation on the shoulders of Palestinians. Sarah Colborne, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, has strongly advocated for ‘truly unbiased journalism’ from the BBC in response to its one-sided coverage of the Gaza wars, to no avail.

Following the events of 2014, Palestinians are marked by the precarious predicament they find themselves in. They are subject to unsympathetic typifications by media outlets and are disillusioned by their government’s violent acts, which are met by brutal retaliation from Israel. This is an untenable position, with most suggesting that the natural culmination of this sustained course of action would be a zero-sum joust for existence; in the end, it will be one or the other that prevails. This is where the infamous wall comes into play and offers new dimensions and considerations that can salvage the situation. Ostensibly, the wall seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and it would be an exercise in futility to talk about its significance in the conflict. However, I believe that the existence of such a wall on disputed land makes it the perfect vessel to convey messages to a global public — what Ashley Toenjes describes as the ‘transnational publicity’ abilities of the wall.

The wall has been co-opted by Palestinians and international artists to act as a blank canvas toward which global attention can gravitate towards. Grievances are expressed on a public and exposed platform for all to see, unencumbered by biased media distortions or suppression. A famous example of this would be Banksy’s pieces on the wall. Banksy’s use of this platform, given his status as a renowned artist whose pieces attract publicity, effectively exposes the injustices Palestinians face to those who are unwittingly or consciously ignorant. The groundwork of using the wall as a medium of condemnation by international artists and as a form of nonviolent protest by native artists has been gaining momentum. Myriads of gross indignations have been exposed through pieces of art on the wall, acting as a make-shift reality dissemination platform accessible and quickly proliferated by visitors who share pictures on social media. The public nature of it forces everyone to confront the often harsh realities of the conflict – apartheid segregation, armed conflict, and an uncertain future, amongst many others. This is where the mirroring nature of the wall comes into play: mirrors refract the unvarnished and unblemished reality, free of distortion. A mirror presents objective truth, and the wall has inadvertently become a mirror held up to those who put it up in the first place.

Concluding, while the wall’s ability to be a proponent of the truth is important, arguably the most significant facet of the wall’s graffiti is its ability to reclaim space and narrative. What was intended to oppress a people is now being used to evoke strong sentiments of solidarity, pride and resilience. The wall is where national pride, resistance and cultural identity all seem to coalesce to imbue a renewed sense of optimism for the future. A mirror often allows you to look at yourself and find the truth. The wall enables Palestinians to break free of their acquiescence and feel they can still exercise nonviolent opposition without fear of repercussion. The narrative of the conflict can be reclaimed; no longer can the media skew the story if it’s nonviolent and there for all to see. Palestinian stories are now being told by Palestinians. Although street art and graffiti on a wall will not resolve a complex decades-old violent confrontation, the art on the wall is a poignant use of a tainted physical barrier to asserting a renewed Palestinian hope. The current stalemate can only be resolved through bilateralism and diplomacy, both lacking in recent times due to the irreconcilable differences further entrenched with every armed confrontation. The veiled mirror within the wall can be fostered into tangible outcomes if a concerted effort is directed towards sustained interest. Walls are inherently immoral, and perhaps when met by righteous protest – they will crumble.