Tailor Abu Alaa Ghaben in his workshop, Gaza city. Photo by Abed Zagout
Keffiyeh face mask to protect both identity and health قناع الوجه-الكوفية لحماية الصحة والهوية
August 2020
During the Disarming Design create-shop in Gaza in 2015 artist Mohammed Musallam created a face mask based on traditional keffiyeh design. The conceptual artwork could be seen both as an expression of Palestinian identity, and as a means of protection; caring for identity is as important as protecting health. The mask was first used in Gazan hospitals under siege. At the time of conception, it was impossible to foresee the impact of Covid19; hence, one can say that this face mask shows the power of artistic imagination. The artwork did not lose any of its meaning; it was taken in production in 2020 and resonated strongly internationally on faces, posters, museums and beyond.
Gaza’s potentially disastrous combination of widespread poverty, densely-packed refugee camps and extremely limited hospital capacity make us even more aware of the catastrophic impact of the illegal occupation, and how fragile life can be. Caring for each other is more important than ever. Under Mohamed Musallam’s supervision, the new masks were produced in Gaza City by tailor Abu Alaa Ghaben; to be worn for your safety and as an act of solidarity.
The London based ‘world’s leading museum of art, design and performance’ V&A acquired Musallam’s facemask for their collection in 2021. Curator of the Middle Eastern Section Mariam Rosser-Owen researched the objects history and wrote an informative article touching on the social-cultural context of the keffiyeh, the recent violence and global solidarity, and the artist’s interpretation.
The Progressive International is an international organization uniting and mobilizing progressive left-wing activists and organizations. The organization labels itself as aiming for a democratic, decolonized, just, egalitarian, liberated, solidaristic, sustainable, ecological, peaceful, post-capitalist, prosperous, and a plural society. They asked artists and cultural workers from around the world to envision what 21st-century internationalism means for them. Mohammed Musallam and Annelys de Vet designed this poster together to join their message of solidarity to unite, organise, and mobilise progressive forces.
Mohammed Musallam and his family on a pro-Palestinian protest, Canada May 2021 @mmmmusallam
Based in Canada and born in Gaza in 1974, Mohammad Musallam holds a Ph.D. in Art Philosophy, he taught drawing, painting, and the history of Palestinian art at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Al-Aqsa University in Gaza. He is an interdisciplinary artist who creates abstract paintings, performances, installations, and video art, where audiences can engage with objects, different materials, and technologies to explore topics such as freedom of movement, peace, and liberty. In his artworks he uses materials Inspired and taken from the local environment to express issues in an extremely concise manner charged with immense expressive energy.
