Fadel Tafesh

Born 1995, in Gaza, Palestine

Displaced in North Gaza

Fadel Tafesh’s work is centered around a single theme: the patience and endurance of the Palestinian mother. Among all the horrors that this genocide has reaped, its assault on mothers and their children is perhaps the most brutal of all, yet rarely focused on. It is hard to find words or ways to discuss such sensitive subject matter, and yet this reality must be spoken. In Tafesh’s words, “Yesterday I saw a child cut in half, I saw the mother there, so calm and so patient—my hair jumped … ‘My kids are for Palestine,’ she said, ‘for the homeland.’ I have heard other mothers cry and sing like a celebration. I don’t think any other mothers in the world are doing that.”

Unlike almost any other artist, Tafesh has long placed the stories of Palestinian mothers at the center of his artistic practice. It’s Not a Loss in Front of God depicts a Palestinian mother who, after ten years of waiting and deprivation, was blessed with twins born during the war. Tragically, a few months after their birth, they became martyrs. The mother expresses her patience, saying “It’s not a loss in front of God.” In Steadfast as an Olive Tree, Tafesh portrays a Palestinian mother embracing her martyred child, standing firm like an olive tree—strong and resilient. The work 580 and Spirit depicts a Palestinian mother who endured 580 injections during her pregnancy to give birth to her child, only to lose her child within moments after an Israeli airstrike on her home. Gone Without Seeing Him represents an elderly Palestinian mother who was denied the chance to see her imprisoned son. She carries him as a martyr on her shoulders.

Fadel Tafesh was born in Gaza in 1995. He obtained a diploma in multimedia from Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City in 2016. At the age of four his grandmother saw his talent and encouraged him to join the Al-Qattan Center for the Child, where he took many courses and met various artists. His first solo exhibition was as a child at the Al-Qattan Center.

In 2018, Tafesh created a sculpture made of 500 sewing needles inscribed with the word hope. This piece was exhibited in Germany. In 2016, his exhibition Dream was presented at the Rashad Shawa Center. In 2016, Tafesh participated in the Light of the Cities exhibition at the Arts Village. In 2016, he created illustrations for a book, How to Deal with Children, in collaboration with UNRWA. In 2015, participated in the exhibition And We Still Are, held at the Arts Village, organized by the Palestinian Youth Ambassadors, Gaza Municipality, and the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). In 2015, he took part in the Sosna exhibition, sponsored by the Abdul Mohsen Qattan Foundation. In 2015, he exhibited at the Arabic Calligraphy exhibition Arabic Basics at the Arts Village. And in 2015, he participated in the exhibition Jerusalem Calls You on Palestinian Heritage Day. In addition to many other recognitions, Tafesh was awarded third place in the International Women’s Day competition at the Rashad Shawa Center and first place in the Threads of Memory competition.