Bashir Makhoul participates with the series “The Promise,” where he explores the intersections between Western abstract painting and Middle and Far Eastern traditions. The paintings blur the boundaries between ornamentation and functionality, pattern and abstraction. The petals, faithfully rendered in oils, initially appear abstracted on a flattened surface, revealing photorealistic details upon closer inspection. The paintings, like Makhoul’s previous work, offer varying interpretations, possibly hinting at political references related to the Palestinian context.

Saher Nassar explores the intricacies of blockade, shedding light on its profound impact on society and vividly illustrates the tragic overshadowing of children’s welfare by aggression and violence. It carefully scrutinizes how the mechanisms of blockade stifle communal growth and suffocate individual potential through physical, cultural, and media-based barriers imposed by the powerful.