Archiving Gaza
Madrid
End of 2024
French version
The Initiative organized the solidarity residency of Palestinian artist Shareef Sarhan at Inland House in Madrid, Spain, for three months at the end of 2024. His artistic space, Shababek Art Space, was bombed by Israeli forces. Despite the absence of institutional support in Spain, this Initiative provided him with a space to exhibit his work and bear witness to the reality of Gaza through a series of black-and-white photographs taken between 2020 and 2023. His exhibition, focused on the lives of Gaza’s fishermen, tells the story of their daily struggle to survive under the Israeli blockade, with restricted access to the sea and constantly threatened livelihoods. After the October invasion of Gaza, the harbour was bombed and most of the hundreds of boats in Gaza were almost disappeared or sunk. These pictures, frozen in time, bring a horizon of hope and resistance to people in Gaza. The Initiative also organized a solidarity sale of his photographs to help the artist reunite with his family, from whom he has been separated since the outbreak of the war.