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Plastic Houses / Partial Survival

art/video, Songs of the Sunbirds by Hamdi Zeino

Plastic Houses – بيوت بلاستيكية

في رحلة نزوحي .. ذهب بنا المسار الى جامعتي للحصول على مكان للإيواء .. كان من المصادفة ان المبنى الذي اقمنا فيه مخيمنا هو مبنى الفنون الجميلة .. مبنى تخصصي الجامعي .. اختلطت مشاعري بين القلق والامان بين الخوف والهدوء .. بيتي الثاني اصبح بيتي ومخيمي ، اصبح مخيم لجوء لآلاف الناس والكثير من الخيام .. رسمت هذا المشهد في ظل تبعثر المشاعر وانقلاب الاوضاع .. تلاحمت ريشتي مع لوحتي ليجسدوا مشهد من اعلى مبنى الفنون .. مشهد صعب .. خيام الهاربين من الموت تبدوا هادئة ..

 
The path on my displacement journey took us to my university, to find a place that can shelter us. It was a coincidence that the building in which we set up our camp was the Fine Arts Building. My own faculty. My feelings were mixed between anxiety and safety, between fear and familiarity. The place of my education became my home. It became a camp that housed thousands of displaced Palestinians and many, many tents. I painted this difficult scene in light of the scattered emotions and the tables that have been turned. My brush and my painting merged to embody the scenery from the top of the Arts Building, the tents of those fleeing death appearing falsely serene.

Partial Survival – نجاة جزئية

عندما اتكلم عن النزوح هنا .. انها فكرة صعب تقبلها ان تترك بيتك وموطنك تحت تهديد السلاح .. تحت ضربات المتفجرات والدخان والنار .. لم يكن لدي الوقت الكافي لكي احضن بيتي قبل الرحيل .. اختزلت كل ما املك في حقيبة ظهر .. النار من خلفنا والمجهول من امامنا والموت معنا ..
 
When I talk about displacement here… it is horrifying, too difficult to accept. To leave your house and your land at gunpoint, under the blows of explosives, smoke and fire… I did not have enough time to embrace my home before leaving… I put everything I owned in a backpack and fled, with the fire behind us, the unknown ahead of us, and death walking alongside us.

I am Hamdi Zeino, a 23 years old artist from the Gaza Strip. I graduated with a degree in accounting and was recently a bachelor’s student in fine arts and graphic design. Lately my work included making animated films and digital art, and I participated in many local exhibitions. I practice, research, and master all art techniques only to find myself having to deal with this world… This world that I wish would have more humanity and pay attention to the real story… I fight that which prevents people from realizing the truth, I fight it with my sword and my shield. The sword is my brush and my palette is the shield. I also do this to save my family from being at gunpoint and get them out of harm’s way. I am speaking to you now from the heart of my battle, I need support to defend my most basic human rights.

https://gofund.me/1b1e7e75

I felt compelled to create this link to resist the cruel circumstances of our lives. I am sharing my art in exchange for some financial support to obtain food and manage the costs of displacement… I wanted to achieve my goals at this age, but the days are passing here and the only thing I can do is try to survive. We even have the same clothes that we hastily gathered from our rooms since October, before we had to run away. You can see my work and contact me on Instagram, @hamdi_zein0