Malak Mattar has lived through four Israeli attacks on Gaza. In 2014, when the Palestinian artist was 14, she spent 52 days locked in her home, fearing for her life.
As Israeli air strikes pummelled the Gaza Strip, she turned, for distraction, to a watercolour set she had been given at school, but had never used. Her first painting was of a smiling girl, her eyes closed and arms flung wide, her hair curling in the wind. She wears an embroidered dress and hovers above a city of ugly grey buildings, her skirt as wide as the sky. Two pink doves float beside her and in one hand she holds a golden key.
Mattar, 21, first started painting at the time she experienced a third Israeli bombardment of Gaza, after she witnessed an air strike that killed her neighbour.
“They bombed her house when she and her husband were inside. They were an old couple and all I remember is her beautiful colourful clothes and her feeding cats near her home,” she says. She describes how she witnessed the woman’s body being recovered from the ruins of the house. “These scenes stuck with me for so many years – until now. It’s not something that I forget.”
Amid the fear and stress of the weeks that followed, painting became a therapeutic outlet. “When I survived the first attack I was only eight years old and it took me around seven years to be able to talk with people normally … so when I was 14, this was the time I broke this silence,” she says.
She began sharing her work on social media and was astonished to receive messages from around the world. She held her first exhibition at the age of 14 and has since created more than 300 paintings, exhibiting her art in 11 countries and earning a scholarship to study foreign affairs and international relations at Istanbul Aydin University, where she is about to enter her final year.
“A lot of people hear of the Gaza Strip through me, especially in my university talks and exhibitions, so I feel like there is a kind of responsibility to portray the reality as it is,” she says. “It can be overwhelming, but I feel I’m blessed to have the recognition I get because I believe in art … It’s one of the things that people find surprising – that there is art from the Gaza Strip – so I find it a powerful message in itself.”
Mattar’s paintings are soulful Expressionist portraits that reveal her love for the colours and shapes of Picasso and Matisse, and her admiration for the searing self-expression of Frida Kahlo.
Her Recent work includes Two Gazan Girls Dreaming of Peace, a rich, autumnal-hued acrylic and oil painting capturing two dark-haired, dark-eyed women in traditional embroidered dresses holding a white dove between them.
Another, You and I, was created in February to mark to death of Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti. It shows him embracing his wife, Radwa Ashour, an Egyptian novelist who died in 2014, their rich clothes a Gustav Klimt-inspired symphony of flowers and gold. She named the painting after a poem Barghouti dedicated to his wife.
One piece captures two girls sharing a single face mask bearing images from Picasso’s famous anti-war painting Guernica. It aims to convey the shortage of medical supplies in the Gaza Strip. The eyes of its subjects, wide and expressive above the mask, speak of silent suffering.
The first time Mattar visited a museum was on a trip to France. Repeat visits to the Louvre gave her a new perspective on her own life. “Even before surviving the four attacks, I had the trauma genetics from my grandparents; from my parents. And they got passed to me … But then seeing all these pieces by, for example, Picasso, I realised that the trauma exists, but it’s up to me to move forward in life and to not limit myself,” she says.
A lot of people hear of the Gaza Strip through me, especially in my university talks and exhibitions, so I feel like there is a kind of responsibility to portray the reality as it is
Malak Mattar,
Palestinian artist
In recent years, many of her paintings have come to focus on Gazan women and the struggles they face. “I paint my stories and my emotions and things I feel strongly about,” she says.
“I’m critical of patriarchy, so I’ve painted about domestic violence. I’ve painted about the killing of women by their partners, their fathers or their brothers. It’s something I get criticised for, like, ‘You need to focus on the main issue.’ And I say, ‘No, because when a woman gets killed, she gets killed.’ There is nothing to hide or to turn a blind eye to.”
Thawra (Revolution) was inspired by J Howard Miller’s famous We Can Do It! poster, which shows a woman in a bandanna flexing her bicep, created in 1943 to recruit women to work in US factories and shipyards during the Second World War. It later became a symbol of American feminism.
Mattar echoes the pose in her portrait of Israa Ghareeb, the make-up artist from Bethlehem who was killed in 2019 by her brothers at age 21 for having dinner with her fiance.
“She represented, for me, the hope of Palestinian women – to get independent and to be creative and to be strong – so her killing was a killing of something inside me. In a way, it felt personal,” says Matter.
She speaks passionately about how women in Gaza are twice oppressed: by the Israeli occupation that traps them in the Gaza Strip and by the patriarchal values of Palestinian society.
“Part of my feminism is actually from my mum because she worked for 23 years as a teacher and she has very strong attitudes. She believes in equality,” she says.
“People have this image of submissive women, which is partially true, but there is still a full image that needs to be portrayed. Women are strong and they still try to work, despite all the oppression they face, so there is an image that needs to be portrayed through art, which is beauty and strength and resilience.”
Mattar’s next project is a new venture – a children’s book based on her own story, which she says will be the first bilingual book written and illustrated by a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip. She hopes that it will encourage local children to forge connections with people outside Gaza, particularly other Palestinians.
“A friend of mine who lives in Al Jalil, which is a few hours away by car, said, ‘Gaza is so close, but I feel it’s further away than China.’ This is what the occupation wants, to disconnect it culturally, socially and politically,” she says.
“So I’m hoping to make this connection, that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip do exist, they have their own dreams. They are really traumatised, but they are still living their lives hoping for change.”
Artist in Focus is our series that shines a spotlight on young artists in the region
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
The specs: 2018 Mazda CX-5
Price, base / as tested: Dh89,000 / Dh130,000
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 188hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 251Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.1L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
Arctic Monkeys
Tranquillity Base Hotel Casino (Domino)
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
