For Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen, walking along the wall built by Israel and separating the West Bank from the Hebrew state, is now an opportunity to contemplate his exhibition of graffiti denouncing the Israeli occupation.
His work occupies much of the portion of the separation wall that faces the Walled-Off Hotel, fitted out in Bethlehem by street artist Banksy and whose windows purposefully overlook this symbol of the occupation.
Read also: Banksy opens a "hotel" in Bethlehem, at the foot of the separation wall
Among Taqi Spateen's paintings is a huge portrait of George Floyd, the African American killed in May 2020 in Minneapolis, United States, by police officer Derek Chauvin.
“
I have the impression that George Floyd is a Palestinian.
These are the same concerns as ours,
”in particular the fight against racism, the artist told AFP, after completing his last graffiti, a sniper rifle under the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. , whose eastern part of the holy city was annexed and has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
Read also: Banksy sold off in Gaza: the police confiscate the work
A drawing of Lionel Messi shooting in the middle of chains
Israel began to build in 2002, in the midst of the Intifada, what it calls the "
security fence
" supposed to protect it from attacks from the West Bank, and which should eventually reach 712 km in length.
For Palestinians, this barrier made of barbed wire, electric fences and concrete walls reaching up to nine meters in height is the "
apartheid wall
", one of the most despised symbols of the occupation.
Taqi Spateen, who lives in Houssane, west of Bethlehem, also portrayed Argentina football star Lionel Messi kicking a ball through chains. An image inspired by Argentina's 2018 decision to cancel a friendly match with Israel, due to the Hebrew state's treatment of the Palestinians.
The artist is on the verge of settling in Paris, where he wishes to produce a work representing a “
fog
” engulfing Palestinian society.
Taqib Spateen claims to be inspired in part by images of tear gas fired by Israeli forces to quell Palestinian protests and riots, as well as photos of the dust that blanketed Gaza after Israeli raids on the Palestinian enclave in May. Israel razed several buildings in Gaza during an 11-day conflict in May, which also saw Palestinians from Gaza fire thousands of rockets into Israeli territory.
The "
ugliness
" of the wall, its "
presence and its enormous impact
», Are all motivations for the artist to continue his work.
And today, claiming political inspiration, he does not hesitate to assert: “
Graffiti is a tool of resistance in Palestine.
"
Palestinian artist paints George Floyd on Bethlehem wall