Ibrahim Abusitta honours and celebrates Palestinians’ endurance under occupation at the annual festival

By Ayshat Abdurzakova 

Ibrahim Abusitta dedicates his art to Palestinians seeking liberation. By acknowledging the history of Palestine through references to popular photographs and his family heritage, his art illustrates the Palestinian persistence in the face of injustice. 

Abusitta’s art is heavily symbolic; he uses various imagery related to the Palestinian cause — such as a bird representing freedom or an olive tree associated with peace and being native to the land.  

An outline of a house is also a common theme throughout his artworks, often surrounding a collage of images related to the history of Palestinian displacement. 

After his grandparent’s home in Gaza was bombed in December of last year, he says he began to use the motif of a house to encompass memories of his homeland. 

Displacement and the loss of ancestral homes is a difficulty shared by many Palestinians. At the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF), Abusitta spoke about the symbol of a house representing a community bonded by their shared adversity and a signal of hopefulness for the future. 

References in his collages to Palestinian cultural history and moments of triumph are used to challenge the popular notion that Palestine was a land without people and Palestinians, a people without an identity. 

“Don’t forget this history that we’ve had,” said Abusitta during his exhibition. 

A major part of that history pertains to nature, which is a source of admiration for many Palestinians. The Palestinian olive tree has become a symbol of their resilience. The olive tree thrives in harsh conditions, yet remains steadfast in bearing fruit emulating the perseverance of the Palestinian identity despite hardships. Olive trees are seen in literature as representing peace and hope. 

Abusitta references the photograph of a woman holding a broken olive tree in distress.

 “In order to punish the Palestinians, Israelis will destroy, chop down and burn their olive tree growth,” said Abusitta. 

Birds are also used in Abusitta’s art. Often seen in Palestinian poster designs, he uses the imagery of birds trapped in the outline of a mind to showcase the idea of Palestinians wanting to escape from occupation and waiting for freedom. The bird also appears beside illustrations of older photos, showing that at one point the Palestinians were free. 

“I’m thinking of the people of Palestine,” said Abusitta. “Always waiting for this day that they can be free from their oppression and occupation.”Despite growing up in Canada, Abusitta has felt a deep connection to his heritage. He says he often felt like an outsider, and through his artwork, he was able to reconnect with his culture and honour it.

On a smaller canvas, a family portrait is outlined by a silhouette of a house. It depicts three generations of his family. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather. A light pinkish purple and yellow hue is brushed over the portrait in a dream-like essence.  Roman tiles surrounding the portrait are a reference to ancient mosaics unearthed by a farmer in perfect condition in Gaza in 2022. This was Abusitta’s way of displaying Palestine’s diverse and rich history. 

Family is a cornerstone in many of his paintings and represents the Palestinian population as if it were one solid entity facing hardship. He doesn’t include himself in any portraits, but because he identifies with the Palestinian struggle, he sees himself reflected in everything he creates.  

He sees himself in the image of a child throwing a rock at a tank, the woman with the olive tree, the people using a ladder to climb over an apartheid wall and his family portraits. He finds a part of himself in their acts of defiance; therefore, they symbolize Palestine as a whole. 

“Collaging thoughts and ideas that I have on Palestine — on home, on identity, on the political thinking of the past and thinking of the future” 

Abusitta hopes his art will help his audience to appreciate the history of Palestine and understand Palestinians’ pursuit of liberation. He says his art pieces featured at TPFF were his reaction to the ongoing atrocities against Palestinians and a celebration of resistance and resilience from his people. Abusitta aims to convey with his artistry that a people despite hardships continue to fight for their freedom and have existed and will continue to to exist.