The Pop Art Exodus

About

The P21 Gallery is proud to announce The Pop Art Exodus, a new contemporary art exhibition commencing at the end of May 2018. The show will be displaying a collection of politically themed digital prints produced by the Lebanese visual artist Mohammad Z. Bassyouni. The exhibition has been put together as a symbolic gesture to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day, the day following the announcement of Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

While for some this day represents historical hallmark celebrating the victory after the long-lasting struggle for national independence, for others it marks the beginning of an irreversible catastrophe. ‘The Pop Art Exodus is dedicated to those Palestinian people that have been “kicked out” from their own homeland’, the artist expressed. However, this exhibition does not only demonstrate the general displacement and disruption within the framework of Palestinian nation but also re-narrates the tragic individual stories of those people that have in the past 70 years immorally lost their personal freedom and livelihood.

To introduce the subject of the Nakba in more playful and familiar way, the artist chose to draw inspiration for his work from the popular and commercial culture. This artistic technique also known as a phenomenon of Pop Art, emerged in the mid-50s as a response to rapidly growing consumerism. Many artists such as, Andy Warhol or Roy Lichtenstein experimented with Pop Art in the past century, discovering new ways through which they were able to produce graphic or emotionally disturbing works without necessarily distressing their audience. When approaching the subject of the Nakba, the artist Mohammad Bassyouni decided to utilise the commercial iconic images in his production for the very same reasons. Logos of ‘Coca-Cola’ or ‘Pringles’ are the ultimate drivers of positive feelings. We are familiar with these products and most of us incline to feel automatically much more comfortable when having them around. The story of the Nakba is therefore not only narrated in the much more tolerating manner but also in the style in which this issue has not yet been explored before.