Turkish artist Aygeç's 'Posters to an Olive Tree in Exile' exhibition opens in Palestine

An exhibition comprising 20 works, created by Ahmet Yusuf Aygeç, using colored pencils and soft pastels, curated by Samet Karagöz, and supported by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) Palestine Coordination Office, opened at the Mahmoud Darwish Museum in Ramallah, occupied West Bank.

The posters, which depict the tragedy and resistance in Palestine and focus on human life, also feature lines from the poems of Palestine’s national poet Mahmoud Darwish.

The opening was attended by Palestine’s Minister of Culture Imad Hamdan, Vice Consol at the Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem Aleyna Karasaç alongside representatives from Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency’s (TİKA) Palestine Coordination office, the Ramallah Yunus Emre Institution and the Palestine art community. The artist, Aygeç, was unable to attend the exhibition opening in Ramallah as Israel did not grant a visa.

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Palestinian Minister of Culture Hamdan emphasized the significance of the exhibition in “bringing Darwish’s lines onto posters,” adding that having these lines crafted by a Turkish artist adds further value to this message. Stating that the posters portray a “message of resistance, captivity, martyrdom, and faith’ as well as Palestinians’ devotion to their land like and olive tree,” Hamdan expressed that each poster aims to convey the message of the Palestinian cause to the world.

Pointing out that artist Aygeç was unable to attend the opening due to Israel’s visa restrictions, Hamdan said “Israel does not want an eyewitness to be on Palestinian soil or to stand with Palestinians. Nevertheless, this message has reached here from Türkiye, and through the artist’s works, the message of the Palestinian cause is reaching the world.”

Noting that Palestinians had a rich poster-making tradition in the 1960s and 1970s which influenced graphic artists across Europe, the exhibition's curator Karagöz stated that the showcase features numerous references to Darwish. He added that Darwish's line 'Letters to an olive tree in exile' was adapted into posters, lending its name to the exhibition. Karagöz explained that it took artist Aygeç about a year to produce all of these works, adding that all but one feature quotes from Darwish's poems, writings, and speeches. Stating that hosting the exhibition and these artworks at the Mahmoud Darwish Museum is a source of pride, Karagöz expressed that bringing these works together with the Palestinian people holds great significance for them.

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Sharing that both the exhibition and he experienced difficulties arriving in Palestine, Karagöz said, 'We could not risk sending the original artworks here. We didn't know what would happen at customs. So, we decided to send limited-edition prints of them. However, those were also held up at customs and returned to us, and upon arrival, they were worn out and unusable. Therefore, we had to print them locally here. TİKA provided immense support. Thanks to TİKA, we are able to hold this exhibition here. The Mahmoud Darwish Museum has also been a very generous host.

Stating that he has been closely following Palestine for a long time and has expertise on the region, Karagöz shared his impressions as follows:

“I observed that life appears to carry on as usual, but the people I spoke with here mentioned that the streets are deserted and that people are unable to come here... due to the events that took place a few days ago, measures at checkpoints have increased, making it nearly impossible for Palestinians to travel from one place to another. There is also a fuel shortage these days; fuel is not entering the West Bank. People cannot go anywhere because there is no fuel, and even if they have money, they cannot buy it. We see and observe all of this, and it is heartbreaking. We do not want the West Bank, the whole of Palestine, or Gaza to be in this condition. We hope that these days will pass soon.”

The exhibition will remain open to visitors in the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, until August 2.