Since 7 October 2023, Maisara Baroud, a visual artist living in Gaza, has used his art to document his experience of the war. This art has become a daily exercise of humanity, perseverance and documentation. Every day he draws, frequently posting his art on social media to reassure his friends that he ‘is still alive’. This article presents some of the nearly 500 artworks created by Baroud in the past 15 months. These are published alongside a letter to the reader, penned by Baroud, providing insight into the vast impact of the conflict on his life and that of his neighbours, friends and loved ones.
Introduction
Maisara Baroud is a visual artist living in Gaza. Since 7 October 2023, he has used art as a way to document the war as he experiences it. Every day he draws, frequently posting his art on social media, to reassure his friends that he is still alive.
Born in Gaza in 1976, Baroud has worked as a lecturer at the College of Fine Arts at Al-Aqsa University of Gaza. His art has been exhibited in more than twenty countries over the past two decades, including France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
Baroud has written that his artworks endeavour to capture the essence of suffering through a human lens. His work focuses on themes such as war, immigration, political prisoners, and illegal detention.
Baroud’s art is characterised by a ‘black-and-white dichotomy’. This, he has said, serves as an aesthetic expression depicting the universal struggles faced by people globally, with a particular focus on Palestinian suffering. Baroud has described his work as infused with emotions ranging from grief, sadness, and violence to notions of peace, hope, and freedom. They strive, he says, to portray a life intertwined with constant cycles of both death and survival.
The artworks featured in this issue are from Baroud’s series ‘I am still alive’, an ongoing project that began on 7 October 2023. Every day, Baroud creates a new drawing, chronicling life in Gaza. ‘I am still alive’ now consists of more than 400 pieces.
A short text penned by Baroud is featured alongside the art. Reflecting on his words, Baroud said he was unable to find suitable ones but noted, “I hope that my drawings will reach the farthest extent so that the image and the truth can be conveyed.”
Editors note: the drawings featured were selected by Fragments’ editors. Their subjects are in line with our editorial and image policy.
A letter from Maisara Baroud
Since the war in Gaza began, on 7 October 2023, I have made sure to stay in touch with friends as much as possible, to reassure them through my daily life and drawings that I share on social media. I document the war through my eyes and my brush in all its details. My drawings have been my way of telling my friends, “I am still alive.”
Through my daily entries, I have chronicled stories of destruction, loss, death, weakness, displacement, hunger, pain, patience, resilience, and brokenness. In my works, I express the story beyond the official narrative. It is the story of war that produces a tremendous capacity for harm, conquering distance, geography, and even the speed of sound to bring death to more people in less time.
The occupation destroyed everything beautiful in my small city, leaving things trapped in a disfigured memory beneath the rubble. Like many others, I have been displaced from Gaza City to the far south for the fifteenth time, moving between the city’s narrow spaces in an attempt to survive the massacre, searching for lost safety and escaping death. I lost everything I owned: my office, my house, my studio, all my works, tools, books, and belongings.
The planes and missiles ripped away all my dreams and possessions, but they could not take away my passion and love for drawing. I have been drawing every day, and I still do, sending a message that challenges death, destruction, and the machinery of killing. This message has broken the siege, the barriers, and the borders, declaring that I… am still alive.
Maisara Baroud
Gaza
